Voltage sources produce electric current in conductors.

Electric current is the average motion

of a huge number of charges through a conductor. The electrons don't just move in a straight
line. They drift through the conductor in a random walk bouncing off other charges.

These simulations model electric current with Coulomb's law. They don't include the nuances
of quantum mechanics.

A small imbalance in net charge produces an electric field. The electric field points in the
same direction as the current.

In 1746 Benjamin Franklin mistakenly assigned a negative value to the charge carriers that

we now call electrons. This annoying choice set a precedent that made the direction of
electric current opposite of the direction the electrons actually move.

Negative charge flows away from negative potential and towards positive. Positive charge

does the opposite.

Question: What direction is the current in the above simulations?answer

Question: Why do the electrons move, but not the nuclei?answer

The average flow of electrons in a typical wire is around 0.0002 m/s.

Question: If the flow of electrons is slow, why isn't there a delay in the music coming out of
my headphones? Why is communication by phone, TV, and internet near instantaneous?
answer

Current measures the flow of charge over a period of time. Current is not a substance.
Current is a rate, like dollars per hour is a rate.

I = \frac{q}{\Delta t}I=Δtq
II = electric current [A, amps, amperes, C/s]
qq = charge that passes a point on a wire [C, coulombs]
\Delta tΔt = a period of time [s]
It can be helpful, and accurate, to think of electric current like water current. Free electrons
flow through metals like H₂O flows through pipes.

Example: 1.2 coulombs of charge passes through a typical LED every minute. What is the

current in the LED?solution
Example: Two wires of cross-sectional area 1.6 mm² connect the terminals of a battery to the
circuitry in a clock. After 0.04 seconds, 5.0 × 10¹⁴ electrons move through a point on the
wire. What is the current in the wires?strategy
solution
Example: If 0.320 mA of charge flow through a calculator, how many electrons pass through
per second?solution

Voltage (Potential Difference)

Voltage can be thought of as a measure of electric charge density.
Technically, voltage measures the difference in electrical potential between two points.

Voltage is defined so that negative charges are pulled towards positive potential, and positive
charges are pulled towards negative potential. The two terminals in a wall socket are sources
of voltage. The positive and negative terminals on a battery also provide voltage.

These simulations model a "circuit" with a "battery". The battery pushes the negative charges
down, which produces a difference in electric potential.

Areas with more negative charge have negative potential.

Areas with more positive charge have positive potential.

Question: Why does only the right simulation produce a flow of charges.answer

Question: Where is there a higher concentration of electrons?answer
Measure: Let each sim run until they settle on a voltage. Record that voltage.results

Electric circuits have either direct current or alternating current depending on the source of
the voltage.

batteryresistor

In DC (direct current) circuits, a constant voltage source pushes the electrons around the
circuit in one direction. Batteries are common source of DC.
~AC voltagesourceresistor

In AC (alternating current) circuits, a rapidly changing potential pushes the electrons

forward and backwards about 60 times a second. A wall socket is a source of AC.

Question: Predict what happens to the flow of electrons after adding resistors.answer

Question: What would happen if we removed all the resistors?answer

A DC voltage source is represented by one or more pairs of lines.

The longer line in the symbol represents the positive terminal, and it is called the cathode.
The shorter line is the negative terminal, called the anode. Electrons flow out of the anode,
but the current is defined as coming out of the cathode.

Question: What's an example of a DC voltage source?answer

Ohm's Law
In 1827, German physicist Georg Ohm published his work on the relationship between
electric current and voltage. Ohm discovered his law after measuring the voltage on wires of
different length. He found that as wires got longer they had less current for the same voltage.

Ohm's Law says that the voltage in a conductor is proportional to the current. This means we
can build an equation where V = I times a constant. The constant is called resistance and it
measures how current responds to a change in voltage.

The resistance of a material is the inverse of its conductivity. Conductors have nearly zero

resistance and insulators have very high resistance.

V = IRV=IR
VV = voltage, a change in electric potential [V, volts]
Technically ΔV, but V is often used for simplicity.

II = electric current [A, amps, amperes]

RR = resistance [Ω, ohms]
This form of Ohm's law is for direct current circuits only.

Circuit elements convert electric potential into other types of energy. LEDs make light.
Electric motors make motion. Electric speakers make sound. Logic circuits perform
calculations.

Any element of a circuit that does something will cause the electric potential to drop and add
resistance to the circuit.

Play with this circuit simulator for resistance. Adjust the wiggle of the resistor to see how it
changes the voltage and current.