Drift velocity Definition and 62 Threads

According to the special theory of relativity the electric and magnetic fields observed from a charge distribution should depend on the relative motion of the observer. For example consider a linear arrangement of point charges which are fixed relative to each other. An observer who is...

Hi All I hope this topic makes sense for this forum and somebody can help me to understand. This is what I understand (please allow numerical approximations): 1. Electrons move in a conductor at a speed anywhere near the speed of light. 2. Electrons gain actual velocity (drift) only when...

Just wanted to check in my workings to see if they are correct (seemed to be too short to me?) Since electrical conductivity is 820 (ohm.m) which is = n*e*(mobility) Mobility =0.17083? And I can simply get drift velocity by multiplying mobility with an electric field (600V/m)? Cheers

When a P-N junction is in reverse bias, the drift velocity of the system increases, so why is there no current flow? Is the drift velocity not connected to the current? Thanks in advance.

I am looking at this brief derivation of the E cross B drift for a plasma, starting at the top of page 3: http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~lea/courses/grad/motion.PDF. I am a bit confused as to the justification that the drift velocity is perpendicular to the magnetic field, as stated at the top of...

Homework Statement A 5.00-A current runs through a 12 gauge copper wire (diameter 2.05mm) and through a light bulb. Copper has 8.5 x 1028 free electrons per cubic meter. c) At what see does a typical electron pass by any given point in the wire? Homework Equations J = nqvd The Attempt at a...

Homework Statement Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution Current is I = nqvA so drift velocity V is: V = I/nqA Drift velocity for x is: Vx = I/nqA Drift velocity for y is: Vy = 2I/nqA So the ratio of Vx : Vy should be 2:1 since Vy is equal to 2 lots of Vx?? (but correct answer is B)

Electrons are moving VERY fast. However, they don't have a high drift velocity in a circuit. Why? Is it because every time they advance a little bit they collide with an atom? Or is it because the electric field in a circuit is not strong enough so the electrons don't get pushed enough?

Homework Statement If the magnitude of the drift velocity of free electrons in a copper wire is 7.84×10-4 m/s, what is the electric field in the conductor? (Also gives chart that states that the resistivity of Cu is 1.7×10-8 Ωm) Homework Equations [/B] vd=(qEτ)/me (where τ is avg. time...

Homework Statement The beam of electrons in a cathode ray tube contains electrons traveling at 8.4x106 ms-1 and the current throgh the tube is 2.8 micro A. a) how many electrons are emitted per second from the cathode of the tube b) what is the number of electrons per unit length of the beam...

Homework Statement ABCD is a plane rectangular strip of conducting material of uniform thickness, with a steady current flowing uniformly from AD to BC. The potential difference between E and F, the mid-points respectively of AB and CD, is zero, but when a magnetic field is set up at right...

A charged particle drifts in uniform, constant magnetic and electric fields. The electric field, E, is perpendicular to the magnetic field, B. Show that the drift velocity is given by vd = (E×B)/B2 Heres where I get to: F=e(E+vxB)=0 as v is uniform.Therefore E+vxB=0. Take vector product of B...

Homework Statement I am having a look at drift velocity and i know essentially what it is, and i am now noting down the factors that effect the drift velocity of the charge carriers as i think its a useful thing to know. So, so far i have that the number of charge carriers will effect the...

We Know that in conductive Solids there are lots of free electrons available & they drift when electric field is applied. Their drift velocity is in the range of mm/sec to cm/sec. Now if we consider any conductive liquid which is flowing & we connect the electrodes in such fashion that the flow...

Homework Statement [/B] (a) Explain the terms intrinsic, extrinsic, mobility and effective mass in semiconductors (b) What is a hole and explain its mass and charge (c) Why is mobility of holes often less than mobility of electrons? Find the number density of holes and electrons (d) Find the...

I have a question on the derivation of the average drift velocity in a conductor: drift velocity is the average velocity which a free charge moving in a conductor has due to the influence of an electric field applied to the conductor. In a metal, the free charge will be an electron. As they move...

Homework Statement [/B] Can someone confirm if I answered correctly? Thanks Ai) Define the term drift velocity with reference to a current in a circuit. ii) Derive an expression to describe the current passing through a metallic conductor of cross-sectional area A having n charge carriers per...

Why is the drift velocity of an electron in a wire defined as: tau*(E*e/m) and not 1/2 *tau* (eE/m) as it is the AVERAGE VELOCITY!? because the above defintion of drift velocity is the velocity that is attained before the collision so rather the maximum velocity of the elctron, isn't it?

Homework Statement "The low [electron] density of a semiconductor means that the conduction electrons travel much faster than they do in conductors." In order to fully understand this, I feel that I need to know why this occurs. Homework Equations I = nAve Where: I = current n = electron...

Can anyone please explain what is drift velocity. I was absent for that class. I need a detailed explanation and derivation of that. Please help.

Homework Statement I need to calculate the drift speed, drift orbital period and current density for 1eV protons and 10eV electrons. The density is 5 cm^-3 The assumption is that it is only a grad-B drift Homework Equations <V> = [6*E/(qBo*L*Re)](0,35 + 0.15sin(a)) The Attempt at a Solution...

Homework Statement There's an engine connected to a battery with a copper wire. ρ = 1.69x10^-8 n = 8.49*10^28 electrons/m^2 The diameter of the wire is 5mm. The length is 1m. How long does it take for an electron to go from the battery to the engine if i = 100A? Homework Equations ## v_d =...

So my textbook is explaining the hall effect and the following equation was derived: ∆VH=vd·B·W But if you look at the diagram, it appears that vd is pointing both ways. So which direction is vd pointing in? Or is this because electrons in the opposite direction is the same thing as holes in...

Following are the text from an Electrical Engineering Textbook. "it is seen that contrary to the common but mistaken view, 1. the electron drift velocity is rather very slow 2. is independent of the current flowing 3. independent of the area of the conductor" first point can be...

I need help to understand the concept of drift velocity. Here is part from my book: Does this velocity refer to the velocity of each electron? And I don't understand the sentence: The acceleration due to the field and the collision with the crystal counteract, leading to a constant velocity...

In the derivation of drift velocity i have seen two variations and want to know which one's correct. s=ut +\frac{1}{2}at^{2} Assume that the drift velocity of any electron in any conductor is : v_{d}=l/t Due to the electric field the acceleration of electrons in any conductor...

Is the standard equation for drift velocity of electrons also applicable to conduction in, say, a vacuum tube? I assume it is, and if so what is the relation between the drift velocities at the interface of vacuum-metal at the anode of a vacuum diode? The current, electronic charge and Area...

Dear all, I have a question on the derivation of the drift velocity in a conductor, and was wondering if somebody could help me with it: drift velocity is the average velocity which a free charge moving in a conductor has due to the influence of an electric field applied to the conductor. In...

Good Morning, The equations under investigation: Electrons: J = enμE + eD(dn/dx) Holes: J = epμE - eD(dp/dx) n or p = concentration of electrons or holes respectively D = diffusion constant μ = mobility The question in mind is as follows: If holes are...

How is it possible that the two relations i.e., v=(eE/m)t and v=(eE/2m)t both holds good? where e is the elementary charge, m is the mass of the elementary particle, E is the electric field, v is the drift velocity and t is the relaxation time.

I've been sitting at my desk trying to prove this and nothing, already tried googling.. Any help guys? I want to know how to derive it from basic principles. Thanks How I came by it: I'm a high school student and was doing my exam then get asked about drift velocity and it's not even in the...

I'm having trouble understanding where the charging time in a capacitor actually comes from. Is it possible to derive the \tau of a capacitive circuit from the drift velocity of the electrons? Are charges literally moving from the conductors onto the metal plates of the capacitor?

1. Is the charge density (No. of charges/volume) constant for a specific material ? e.g. Copper has a constant charge density no matter how big it is ? 2. Why someone told me that increasing the cross-sectional area of a wire will not affect its drift velocity ? The resistance will be reduced...

i am really really confused . I know what Drift velocity is but the problem is I have three Sources which tell absolutely different expression for drift velocity and I cat relate . please tell which is right . This website and MIT Profs. Walter Lewin In his Lectures says Vd = eE/m x (Tau)...

Homework Statement A) A current I flows along a straight wire of cross-sectional area A. If the unit vector I denotes the direction of current flow, write down the expression for the current density J (assuming it to be uniform throughout the wire ) and give its SI units. B) (This isn't...

Homework Statement Calculate the drift velocity of the elctrons in a conductor that has a cross-sectional area of 8x10^-6m^2 and carries a current of 8A. Take the concentration of free electrons to be 5x10^28 electrons/m^3 with 1.6x10^-19C charge on each electron. Homework Equations...

Homework Statement A beam contains 4.0x10^8 doubly charged positive ions per cubic centimeter, all of which are moving north with a speed of 1.2x10^5 m/s. (a) What is the magnitude of the current density ? (b) What is its direction? (c) What additional quantity or quantities are needed...

Is there a relationship (or equation) between a charge carrier's drift velocity through a conducting material and that material's resistance? I'm trying to reconcile the idea that drift speeds are bigger when cross sections are smaller and the idea that resistance is bigger when cross sections...

Problem: An Si resistor is at 300Kelvin, and is 100μm long, 1μm thick, 5μm wide. The conductivity is 7.128 Ωcm. The resistance is 28058Ω. A voltage of 5v is applied. What is the drift velocity of the electrons, given that n = 1.01x103? Other constants: μn = 1350 cm2/Vsec μp = 450 cm2/Vsec...

Homework Statement A potential diffference of V = .497 V is applied across a block of silicon with resistivity 8.75 x 10-4 Ωm. The dimensions of the block are width = a = 2.00 mm, and length L = 14.7 cm. The resistance of the block is 54.1Ω, and the density of charge carries is 1.23x1023 m-3...

Homework Statement J = ne(v). (yes. it's a vector equation and I haven't indicated that, but just ignore that. It's not important to my question.) Let's say you have some positive ions traveling downward, and some negative ions traveling upward. The electric field is downward. Let's say...

consider two wires of different diameter. when current enters from that of greater diameter to lesser diameter drift velocity increases. which force causes it to increase?

Seeing the other thread about "How I view AC" and the talk of drift velocity reminded me of a question I had a number of years back, and never found an answer to ... what is the electron drift velocity of an electric arc? I'd be interested in the wide scope of everything from lightning strikes...

Homework Statement A copper wire of diameter 2.00mm carries a current of 0.50A.The number of conducting electrons per metre cube of copper is 8.00 x 10^28. a)Calculate the drift velocity of the conducting electrons. b)What is the number of conducting electrons in 10.0cm length of the wire...

Hello, This is a problem that is buzzing me around for quite sometime since I took fundamental physics course. Consider an electric circuit with one battery and one resistor. And ignore the internal resistance of the battery and the resistance of the wires. 1) Does battery supply...

I have a small question that can't solve. How long does it take an average electron to drift 1um in pure silicon in an electric field of 10^4 V/m ? drift velocity v_d = I / (n*q*A) but don't know how to calculate can you help me ? thank you.

Homework Statement Estimate the mean drift velocity of a conduction electron in copper, assuming that there is one conduction electron per atom. Consider No. 14 wire (diamter 0.16 cm), common in houses, carrying 5A. The result should be very small. Why then does an electric light turn on...

Homework Statement Attached to my forum is my homework. I need help with #9 and #10. I have no clue on where to start. Anything is helpful Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution

Hi! I was just reading about drift speed and I read that the speed is about 10^-4m/s. It then struck me that if electricity is carried by electrons, then in a given circuit, how is the light bulb lighting up so quickly when according to my calculations the time taken to travel 0.5 metres for...

Homework Statement A gold conductor with an electric field of 0.01 V/m applied, is 0.01 m long and 5.0E-5m in radius. Assuming one conduction electron per atom, what is the drift velocity of the electrons at a temperature of 20.0 degrees C? at 50 degrees C? Homework Equations I know that...