Undergrad What causes skin effect in AC currents?

[Qmavam]

My assumption has been it is the electromagnetic field starting from the center of the wire that pushes the electrons outward.
However, this would also be true of a DC current, but it isn't.
So why does an AC current cause electrons to move toward the skin of a wire?
I don't recall ever seeing this explained.
Thanks, Mikek

 

[Baluncore]

So why does an AC current cause electrons to move toward the skin of a wire?

It does not.
The current starts on the outside surface, and moves slowly into the conductor.

The incident loop of magnetic field, around the wire, causes a current to flow along the wire.
That causes an opposite magnetic field loop, that cancels most of the incident field, which reduces the magnetic field entering the conductor, and so the current stays on the surface.

 

[alan123hk]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_effect#/media/File:Skineffect_reason.svg