What way do electric currents go?

Answer 1

The true direction of the flowing particles depends on the type of conductor.

Teachers promote idea that electric current is a flow of positive particles in one direction, when supposedly it's a flow of negative electrons going the other way.

Electrons flow from the anode to the cathode. The cathode is usually, but not always, the negative end.

Comment

For metallic conductors, an electric current is an extremely slow drift of free electrons from the negatively-charged end to the positively-charged end of that conductor. However, many textbooks still promote what is called 'conventional flow', or 'Franklinian flow', which is from the positive end to the negative end.

'Conventional flow' was adopted by scientists, such as Benjamin Franklin, before atomic structure was understood, who believed that a current was the flow of a mysterious 'fluid' from a higher ('positive') pressure to a lower ('negative') pressure.

As an electrical engineering lecturer, it is a mystery to me why textbooks continue to use 'conventional', rather than, 'electron flow'! I believe that it acts to confuse students, but that is just my opinion! One established author has produced two versions of his electrical engineering technology textbook: one for 'electron flow'; the other for 'conventional flow', otherwise identical in every respect!

It is very important to know which direction of flow ('electron' or 'conventional') is being assumed, because the laws of electromagnetic induction change according to which direction is being used. For example, 'Fleming's Right-Hand Rule for Generators', for conventional flow, becomes 'Fleming's Left-Hand Rule for Generators' if electron flow is assumed!!

You should also realise that an electric current is not always a flow of electrons. In the case of conducting fluids, such as electrolytes, for example, an electric current may be a flow of ions -not electrons.