Electric fiel of wire carrying current

Click For Summary
Current-carrying wires do have an electric field, which is often overlooked in static analyses. This electric field is essential for the flow of current within the wire. In the case of alternating current, the current is influenced by electromagnetic waves that propagate between the wire and its ground. While a perfect conductor would confine currents to its surface, realistic conductors can also exhibit this behavior. Understanding these concepts is crucial for analyzing the behavior of electric fields around conductors.
waqarrashid33
Messages
76
Reaction score
0
Is current carrying wire have any electric field?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Yes, there is usually an implicitly applied electric field in the wire itself that gives rise to the current. Usually this electric field is ignored for the purposes of a simple static problem. However, if we have an alternating current, then this current is excited by an electromagnetic wave that propagates between the wire and the return/ground. This electromagnetic wave permeates the space around the wire. By convention, we do not regard the fields to penetrate the wire. A perfect conductor restricts all currents to the surface of the wire and prevents any fields from being present inside the wire. A realistic conductor can still be reasonably estimated to have this property as well.
 
See this:

author = "Assis, A. K. T. and Rodrigues, W. A. and Mania, A. J.",
title = "The electric field outside a stationary resistive wire carrying a constant current",
journal = "Foundations of Physics",
year = 1999,
volume = 29,
number = 5,
pages = "729-753",

(I am not an author)
 

Thread 'What determines if wave components are independent vs coherent?'

I'm working through something and want to make sure I understand the physics. In a system with three wave components at 120° phase separation, the total energy calculation depends on how we treat them: If coherent (add amplitudes first, then square): E = (A₁ + A₂ + A₃)² = 0 If independent (square each, then add): E = A₁² + A₂² + A₃² = 3/2 = constant In three-phase electrical systems, we treat the phases as independent — total power is sum of individual powers. In light interference...
View full post »

Similar threads

Undergrad Do electric currents depend on the frame of reference?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
Undergrad Will insulation on electric power lines affect the flow of power?
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
High School Why Does My Toaster Hum Due to AC-Induced Magnetic Forces?
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
2K
Why Doesn't Electric Force Cause Wires to Move?
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
2K
Undergrad Angular momentum associated with a current carrying circular wire
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
2K
  • Sticky
Insights Symmetry Arguments and the Infinite Wire with a Current
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
4K
Undergrad Simple electromagnetic wave including delay
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
Undergrad Does a Railgun's Current Violate Conservation of Momentum?
  • · Replies 61 ·
3
Replies
61
Views
5K
Conservation of Energy on Current-Carrying Wire in Magnetic Field
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Undergrad Resulting magnetic field due to the passage of an AC current
  • · Replies 27 ·
Replies
27
Views
3K