answersLogoWhite

0

The electrons themselves do not move at the speed of light. Electrons in a DC circuit move because of the application of an electric field. Like molecules in a gas, the charge carriers, electrons, undergo a Brownian-like motion through the conductor. The average drift velocity can be calculated by I=nAvQ, where I is current, n is the number of charged particles, A is the cross section area of the conductor, v is drift velocity, and Q is the charge on each particle.

User Avatar

Wiki User

15y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Natural Sciences

Do protons travel through an electric circuit at or near the speed of light?

No, protons do not travel through an electric circuit at or near the speed of light. In a circuit, electrons are the charge carriers that move through the wires at speeds much slower than the speed of light. Protons typically remain within the nucleus of an atom and do not move freely in a circuit.


What is it that travels through an electric circuit at nearly the speed of light?

the wave front of electric current. the electrons themselves move much slower but they keep pushing electrons ahead of them on resulting in a wavefront that moves at almost the speed of light.


Why are electrons travel at greater than speed of light in television?

They don't. Nothing can exceed the speed of light. Electrons in a television travel much slower than the speed of light.


Can electricity travel at the speed of light?

Electromagnetic waves propagate at or near the speed of light, since photons are the carrier of the electromagnetic force, however electricity (that is, the transfer of electrons in a coil or wire) travels quite a bit slower Electrons will vibrate in the coil at "Fermi velocity" which is 1500000 m/s for electrons, but will actually travel the length of the wire at .0003 m/s So, usually no, electricity does not travel at the same speed as light.


Does an electron move with the speed of light or not?

Nothing that has mass when it's stationary can move at the speed of light. Electrons can move at any lesser speed. In modern particle accelerators, they can be boosted to 0.99999c. But every additional ' 9 ' requires ten times as much energy as the previous one did.

Related Questions

Do protons travel through an electric circuit at or near the speed of light?

No, protons do not travel through an electric circuit at or near the speed of light. In a circuit, electrons are the charge carriers that move through the wires at speeds much slower than the speed of light. Protons typically remain within the nucleus of an atom and do not move freely in a circuit.


What is it that travels through an electric circuit at nearly the speed of light?

the wave front of electric current. the electrons themselves move much slower but they keep pushing electrons ahead of them on resulting in a wavefront that moves at almost the speed of light.


Why are electrons travel at greater than speed of light in television?

They don't. Nothing can exceed the speed of light. Electrons in a television travel much slower than the speed of light.


Object traveling through the speed of light?

Electrons are able to travel close to speed of light.


Are calculators at the speed of light?

A calculator can only operate as fast as the electrons that carry the current through its circuits. Electrons have mass, and mass can never travel at the speed of light; therefore, calculators do not operate at the speed of light.


When a light switch is turned on in a dc circuit what is the average speed of electrons in the lamp?

Speed of electronsYou can indeed calculate this if you have much more information. (See the nearby link.) But the surprising thing is that the electrons travel VERY SLOWLY. In fact, if the electrons had to get to the lamp before you would see the light, we would wait several seconds in the dark each time we turned on the light.So the energy transfer in a circuit is wildly different from the electron transfer.


Can electricity travel at the speed of light?

Electromagnetic waves propagate at or near the speed of light, since photons are the carrier of the electromagnetic force, however electricity (that is, the transfer of electrons in a coil or wire) travels quite a bit slower Electrons will vibrate in the coil at "Fermi velocity" which is 1500000 m/s for electrons, but will actually travel the length of the wire at .0003 m/s So, usually no, electricity does not travel at the same speed as light.


Do electrons move faster than the speed of light?

No. Because of their mass, they travel slower than c.


What do you think could travel faster than light a cheetah a bullet sound the space shuttle or highly energetic electrons?

Highly energetic electrons could potentially travel faster than light, as they can achieve speeds close to the speed of light in a vacuum. However, nothing with mass can surpass the speed of light in a vacuum, according to the theory of relativity.


Do electrons go really fast?

The speed of electrons vary, according to charge or voltage. But most electrons travel just under the speed of light. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per sec. meaning an electron could completely circle the Earth 7 times in 1 second. That is fast.


How fast do electrons travel?

In wires and other conductors, electrons travel very slowly. They drift along at molasses speeds, like 1 mm/sec. In vacuum tubes, electrons travel more quickly, around 1% of the speed of light. But the speed of the electrons isn't really important for circuits. What matters is the speed of electric field waves. These waves travel down the wire almost up to the speed of light, and they are responsible for the "instantaneous" effects we see from electricity. Think of a wave traveling across the surface of a slow-moving river, or the speed at which sound waves travel through slow-moving air. Waves can travel much faster than the medium that carries them.


Can a person travel at a speed of light?

No. Nothing with mass can travel at the speed of light.