which way does the current flow?
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Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=105257
Printed Date: April 29, 2024 at 9:50 PM
Topic: which way does the current flow?
Posted By: bemendozer
Subject: which way does the current flow?
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 1:19 AM
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?
Replies:
Posted By: Steven Kephart
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 1:50 AM
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.
Posted By: Alpine Guy
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 6:22 AM
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.
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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.
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 8:19 AM
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... ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: jettagli03
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 11:19 AM
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.
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Posted By: jettagli03
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 11:22 AM
That's also the reason why they are called theories. Until someone can prove it then it's a theory.
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Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 12:35 PM
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. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: jettagli03
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 12:52 PM
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.
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Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 1:14 PM
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. ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: June 05, 2008 at 9:55 PM
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.
Posted By: Steven Kephart
Date Posted: June 06, 2008 at 1:19 AM
DYohn] wrote:
p>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.
It looks like I'm going to have to start calling it the "Hypothesis of Evolution" from now on then. 
Posted By: stevdart
Date Posted: June 06, 2008 at 8:27 PM
heh heh That IS a good one.
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Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: June 06, 2008 at 9:08 PM
Actually, that would be a scientific theory, folks. ------------- Support the12volt.com
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