I have heard that electricity flows from positive to negative terminal and electrons from negative to positive. But is'nt the flow of electricity due to the flow of electrons?? How can that be true? Please explain.
2007-03-07 21:57:21 · 6 answers · asked by cute little 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
When scientists first tried to describe electricity, they assumed something was flowing, but the electron hadn't been discovered yet.
They basically just assumed electricity was the flow of + charges from + to - and said that's the way the current is flowing. This is now known as "conventional current".
When the electron was discovered, scientists realized that in actuality there was a negative charge flowing from - to + in the circuit, but never bothered to redefine conventional current.
It ends up not making much difference, but can certainly be confusing.
Think of it this way. Say you had a long tube of water and released a bubble of air from the bottom. Which would happen?
The bubble goes up
The water goes down
Both are accurate descriptions.
2007-03-07 22:12:08 · answer #1 · answered by Thomas G 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Electricity flows from positive to negative. This is called a convention. This was agreed as a way of describing the flow of electricity, long before anyone knew that electricity was the result of a flow of electrons.
It must have been a bit of a bummer when they found out.
Then they realized that it didn't really matter - it was easier to go on saying that electricity flows from positive to negative rather than having to change everything that had been written.
2007-03-07 22:17:16 · answer #2 · answered by lunchtime_browser 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The direction of current flow is purely conventional - it makes no difference to the physics. Hence it is defined as flow from +ve to -ve. This happens to correspond to an electron flow from -ve to positive (and a hole flow in the case of p-type seimconductors from +ve to -ve).
It may be considered unfortunate that the convention was chosen before electricity was well understood, but it is irrelevant.
2007-03-07 22:28:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Flow of electricity from positive to negative electrodes causes flow of electrons from negative to positive electrodes.
2007-03-07 22:05:56 · answer #4 · answered by J.SWAMY I ఇ జ స్వామి 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both statements are true.
2007-03-07 22:16:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
tricky task. query on to google. that might help!
2014-12-08 19:34:21 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋