Electricity and electrons in the wire

[Abdullah Wahid]

If electrons move as current flows through a conductor, what happens when a wire is grounded? Do electrons flow in the ground??
If they do, will it effect the number of electrons in the circuit which starts from power plant such as dam and comes to our homes through a grid station?
Will it not effect the circuit and the current flowing through it? As I think if the electrons in a circuit are not returning to negetive terminal after going through the resistors, it must effect the circuit as now there are less electrons to transfer charges. Is it all like I think?

 

[davenn]

Hi there
Welcome to PF

If they do, will it effect the number of electrons in the circuit which starts from power plant such as dam and comes to our homes through a grid station?

The electrons in the wire in the generator at the power station don't get to your home appliance. Rather they just oscillate back and forward
at the AC line frequency 50Hz/60Hz about a point of their original position

Now it is a little different for a DC current. They move along the wire from the negative ( 0V) battery or other power supply terminal towards
the positive terminal. it's a very slow movement and is called drift velocity.

here's a link to a whole bunch of links for you to go and read up on

https://www.bing.com/search?q=drift...sc=8-14&cvid=8542b334ac1548b9c03d30f0b90f5ac2Dave

 

[Abdullah Wahid]

Hi there
Welcome to PF
The electrons in the wire in the generator at the power station don't get to your home appliance. Rather they just oscillate back and forward
at the AC line frequency 50Hz/60Hz about a point of their original position

Now it is a little different for a DC current. They move along the wire from the negative ( 0V) battery or other power supply terminal towards
the positive terminal. it's a very slow movement and is called drift velocity.

here's a link to a whole bunch of links for you to go and read up on

https://www.bing.com/search?q=drift...sc=8-14&cvid=8542b334ac1548b9c03d30f0b90f5ac2Dave

Thanks for welcoming me
Electrons move slowly which is drift velocity.
Does these slowly moving electrons enter Earth when a circuit is connected to earth?

On quora it says that they move in line. So the electrons must enter the Earth one by one as when grounded, current is still flowing which means electrons are moving with drift velocity
So will this effect the circuit after electrons hve moved in the ground?

 

[davenn]

On quora it says that they move in line. So the electrons must enter the Earth one by one as when grounded, current is still flowing which means electrons are moving with drift velocity

They will only move to ground if the other part of the source is also connected to ground ... there needs to be a complete path ( circuit)

eg. if you just take a wire from the negative terminal of a battery and poke it into the ground ... no current will flow as the circuit isn't complete

 

[Abdullah Wahid]

They will only move to ground if the other part of the source is also connected to ground ... there needs to be a complete path ( circuit)

eg. if you just take a wire from the negative terminal of a battery and poke it into the ground ... no current will flow as the circuit isn't complete

First, we have earthed the casing of our electrical appliances so that if they have a current flowing in them, it can travel to the ground. This current travel despite the fact that we do not have other terminal of circuit in the ground. Why is this so?

Secondly, as you said it will travel in ground if circuit is complete, ground is an insulator, so why will it allow electrons to flow through it?

 

[profbuxton]

Note that ideally NO electrons(current) will flow into the ground UNLESS there is a connection to ground at BOTH ends of the system. For example, if you have a power source(battery) and connect the positive and negative to a light, current will flow around the wires to light it up. Now if you connect the power source(battery) negative to ground, current will still light the light. NO current will flow into the ground from your negative connection.
Now if you connect the positive of the battery to ground a current WILL flow from positive through the ground back to the negative. The amount of current will depend on the resistance of the soil(ground) and the voltage. Note that ground is NOT regarded as an insulator. The ground (soil) will conduct current very well , depending on local factors such as type and moisture in the soil. Measuring ground resistance is a standard required practice for electrical installations. It generally should be below about 5 Ohms when measured (refer to soil conductivity measurement practice).

 

[anorlunda]

Remember that a battery or a generator always has two or more wires No electron will flow out on one wire unless another electron simultaneously flows in via another wire. We call that a closed circuit. The electrons circulate in the circuit (the similarity in those two words is not an accident; it is the essence of the meaning.) Attaching some point in the circuit to Earth doesn't change that.

 

[davenn]

First, we have earthed the casing of our electrical appliances so that if they have a current flowing in them, it can travel to the ground. This current travel despite the fact that we do not have other terminal of circuit in the ground. Why is this so?

It is not so ... At the switchboard/fuse box at the house etc ... the Neutral is grounded

Secondly, as you said it will travel in ground if circuit is complete, ground is an insulator, so why will it allow electrons to flow through it?

The ground IS NOT an insulatorYou seem to have a lot of misunderstandings

Note that ideally NO electrons(current) will flow into the ground UNLESS there is a connection to ground at BOTH ends of the system.

yup as I said a couple of posts ago

Dave