which way does the current flow?

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bemendozer

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 1:19 AM / IP Logged

All the time I have been working on cars I always thought that the current flowed from pos to neg but the other day I was told that it flowed the other way, is this true?

Steven Kephart

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 1:50 AM / IP Logged

Yes, it is true in a DC circuit. Current is the flow of electrons in a circuit. Electrons are negatively charged and therefore flow from negative to positive.

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Alpine Guy

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 6:22 AM / IP Logged

Conventional current flow is pos to neg, but as Steve said, the way it actually works is called Electron Flow, which goes from neg to pos. It's just too late to turn back and tell the world it's really electron flow.

2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.

DYohn

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 8:19 AM / IP Logged

And if you REALLY want to confuse newbies let them know that in reality electrons don't "flow" anywhere, they stay put exactly where they are in the parts of an electrical system. They transfer energy from one atom to the next by changing the shell of their orbits due to electrical charge potential. All beginning electrical theory is taught like current flow was water through a hose, when it reality it is nothing like water flow at all...

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jettagli03

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 11:19 AM / IP Logged

Like Alpine Guy said there are two theories, conventional theory (pos to neg) and electron theory (neg to pos), but no one knows for sure which way it actually does flow because electricity travels the speed of light and we're not cool enough to be able to keep up and follow it and find out which way it is actually coming from.

jettagli03

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 11:22 AM / IP Logged

That's also the reason why they are called theories. Until someone can prove it then it's a theory.

DYohn

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 12:35 PM / IP Logged

jettagli03 wrote:

That's also the reason why they are called theories. Until someone can prove it then it's a theory.

No no no, it does not become a theory until it has indeed been proven through repeated experiments. If it's unproven, it is a hypothesis. This is a common misconception about what makes up scientific theory. If it is a theory, it has been proven. If it is a theory that is always true in all cases and cannot be changed, it becomes a Law.

Bottom line is, electrical current does not flow from positive to negative or vice versa. On a quantum level, there is no such thing as current "flow," there is only a transfer of energy along a conductive path.

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jettagli03

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 12:52 PM / IP Logged

True, basically what is happening is an electron from the outer shell is moving down the line to the next atom. The real question is which direction are they all going?

I was thinking that it's not a law so there is not certainty to which is the true "flow" or direction of the current.

DYohn

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 1:14 PM / IP Logged

The electrons don't move in any direction. They stay with the exact same atom they start with unless the material is radioactive. Only the energy is transferred from one atom to the next. The energy actually "moves" in both "directions" since it is a vibration, not at all like water flow. Conventional electrical theory is, in fact, wrong when viewed on a quantum level.

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stevdart

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Posted: June 05, 2008 at 9:55 PM / IP Logged

I never advanced to "hypothesis". I'm still "guessing". lol

There is no flow, people. Nothing to look at here.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

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