The flow of electric current occurs because we have a high potential of electrons gathered at the positive terminal and a low potential of electrons at the negative terminal. It doesn't have so much to do with the charge associated with each one as it does with the fact you have an inequality between amounts of electrons available. When you complete the circuit by turning on the switch, the electrons flow naturally from the high potential to the low potential, which is from the positive pole to the negative pole. Think of it this way: if you have a stream of water, and you build a dam to hold back the water, you get a buildup, a reserve of water behind the dam. When you open the floodgate of the dam, you start a "flow" of water from the excess water you have available. This water quite readily flows to the lower levels in front of the dam, where the water levels are low. It is the same with the flow of electric current through a circuit.
FAQs
Why do electrons flow from negative to positive and electric charge flows from positive to negative ?????????? ›
The flow of electric current occurs because we have a high potential of electrons gathered at the positive terminal and a low potential of electrons at the negative terminal.
Why does charge move from positive to negative? ›The charge have intrinsic property of repelling similar charge but being attracted or attracting unlike charges. in metallic conductors electrons are free but Nuclei (the positive charges) are not free, so electrons flow from Positive terminal (Anode) towards negative terminal (Cathode).
How does energy flow positive to negative or negative to positive? ›Current flows from positive to negative and electron flows from negative to positive. Current is determined by the number of electrons passing through a cross-section of a conductor in one second. Current is measured in amperes, which is abbreviated "amps".
Why do electrons flow in the opposite direction of the electric field? ›Electrons move in the opposite direction of the electric field because they are negatively charged and are therefore attracted to the positive charge that creates the electric field. The motion of a charge in an electric field is determined by its electric charge and the strength of the electric field.
Why do electrons move from the negative and of the tube to the positive end? ›Flexi Says: In a cathode ray tube, electrons move in a beam from negative end (cathode) of the tube to the positive end (anode). This occurs because electrons are negatively charged particles, and are therefore repelled by negative charge and attracted to positive charge.
Why current flows from positive to negative and electron flows from negative to positive? ›The flow of electric current occurs because we have a high potential of electrons gathered at the positive terminal and a low potential of electrons at the negative terminal.
What causes electrons to flow? ›Answer and Explanation: Voltage or a potential difference causes electrons to flow in a wire. When there is a difference in the electron potential between two points (which can be set up by any electromotive force source), electrons flow from the negative to the positive terminal.
Which way do electrons flow and why? ›The flow of electrons is termed electron current. Electrons flow from the negative terminal to the positive. Conventional current or simply current, behaves as if positive charge carriers cause current flow. Conventional current flows from the positive terminal to the negative.
Why is the charge of flow opposite to the direction? ›Coming on to the flow of electron, by their very nature, the electron will tend to flow towards the +ve side because they have -ve charge, and hence they flow opposite to the conventional direction of current flow (from +ve to -ve).
Why do electrons have to spin in opposite directions? ›Electrons are charged species which revolves around the nucleus and spin on their axis. Thus, they generate a magnetic field due to their motion. Two electrons present in the same orbital have opposite spins (i.e. clockwise and anticlockwise) to cancel out the magnetic field generated by the other electron.
How does electricity actually flow? ›
Electric current (electricity) is a flow or movement of electrical charge. The electricity that is conducted through copper wires in your home consists of moving electrons. The protons and neutrons of the copper atoms do not move.
Why does the electric charge flow? ›The electric current flows through the wire due to the potential difference between the two ends. An electric field is formed in a wire when a potential difference is applied across it.
Why do electrons flow towards the positive terminal of a battery in a circuit? ›Electrons are negatively charged particles hence get attracted towards positive terminal as you know from the laws of electrostatics.
Does positive charge go to negative charge? ›Charge taken from one material is moved to the other material, leaving an opposite charge of the same magnitude behind. The law of conservation of charge always applies, giving the object from which a negative charge is taken a positive charge of the same magnitude, and vice versa.
Why doesn't the positive charge move? ›In metallic conductors, however, positively charged nuclei of atoms are rigidly held inside a crystalline structure, and are unable to move as current carriers. Negatively charged conduction electrons, on the other hand are a mobile pool of current carriers capable of moving freely when acted upon by an electric field.
Why do positive charges attract negative charges? ›You could say, that the positive charge is moving towards the negative charge because its like the negative charge has a hoover vacuum effect, because the negative charge is sucking or taking any field which it finds and draws into itself. That could make a lot of sense.
How does a charge become positive or negative? ›An electrical charge is created when electrons are transferred to or removed from an object. Because electrons have a negative charge, when they are added to an object, it becomes negatively charged. When electrons are removed from an object, it becomes positively charged.