Can Electrons Leave a Circuit Through an Open Branch?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the behavior of electrons in RC circuits, particularly focusing on the movement of electrons through branches of a circuit that are not connected to a load. Participants explore the implications of open branches in parallel circuits and the conditions under which electrons can or cannot travel through these branches.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the concept of charge accumulation in open branches and the conditions that prevent electron flow, including the role of electric fields and the need for a complete circuit. Questions arise about the behavior of electrons in broken branches and the conditions under which they might escape a conductor.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing insights into the behavior of electrons in circuits. Some guidance has been offered regarding the necessity of a complete circuit for current flow, and the implications of charge accumulation in open branches are being explored.

Contextual Notes

Participants are examining the theoretical aspects of electron behavior in circuits, with a focus on assumptions about charge movement and the physical principles governing electron confinement within conductors.

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Hi. I'm not sure if this is the right place to pose this question as it is not homework question.
I'm studying RC circuits in second semester physics and I have a question about the electrons traveling through a circuit. Is it true that electrons won't travel down a branch of a circuit in parallel if it is not connected to anything on one end? If that is true, why do they not travel down those paths?
 
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Yeah it's true. If the electrons have nowhere to go, then there will be a pile up of charge. Obviously a pile up of charge can't last, since electrons repel. Another way to look at it is that the concentration of charge will result in an electric field that opposes the one that was driving the electrons in the first place. Equalization will happen quickly. You need a complete circuit to have a current.
 
Thank you for the reply.

Does that mean that electrons will continuously accumulate in the broken branch and then scatter?
 
The electrons can not jump out of a conductor at a free end unless it is at very high voltage to make a spark.
The electrons can move freely inside the bulk of the conductor, but kept there by the Coulomb forces of the positive ions. They say that the conduction electrons are confined in a "potential well" inside the metal, and they need a certain amount of energy (Work function, a few eV) ) to escape.

ehild
 

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