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nitinshetty
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What is the speed of electricity?
How fast does electricity travel?
How fast does electricity travel?
nitinshetty said:What is the speed of electricity?
How fast does electricity travel?
whozum said:I don't really think electricity has a speed
Pengwuino said:Sounds like electricity may be one of those badly-named concepts in relation to electro-magnetic propogation but id unno
cscott said:Is it wrong saying gravity (if that's the right word to use) travels at the speed of light as per GR?
Pengwuino said:Whozum, from what I am picking up in bits in pieces from around here, there seems to be theories to indicate that gravity is like EM waves or something that actually has a speed.
Per Einsteins GR theory gravitational waves do travel at the speed of light. If a mass such as the sun disappeared the resulting gravity waves would spread out at the speed of light taking 8 mins to reach the earth..Pengwuino said:Whozum, from what I am picking up in bits in pieces from around here, there seems to be theories to indicate that gravity is like EM waves or something that actually has a speed.
whozum said:I'm aware, but my point was you made the assumption that I was talking about gravity waves, whereas I could've been a misinformed person and referring to something else, like falling due to gravity, etc.
Pengwuino said:Well, i thought gravity was gravity waves... i don't know anything :D
VinnyCee said:In a superconducting material, electricity is able to move at full speed, the speed of light.
Question: DOES THE ELECTRON TRAVEL AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT?
------------------------------------------------
Answer: No. If you calculate the instantaneous speed of electron
using the theoretical models, it comes out to be the velocity
of light. However, we cannot measure instantaneous speeds, but only
speed averaged over some time scale by measuring position at two
instants of time. When we do this, the speed is always less than
the velocity of light. Theoretical models also predict average
velocity less than speed of light.
The above discussion only applies to speed of light
in vacuum. Electrons can , and do, travel at
speeds faster than
speed of light in some media.
Jasjeet
Source
Pengwuino said:Well, i thought gravity was gravity waves... i don't know anything :D
Chronos said:This would make for an interesting experiment. You could wire some bulbs in series using a very long coil of thin wire and see if there is a measurable time interval between the first and last bulb lighting up.
Wouldn't they all light simultaneously because nothing will happen until the circuit is completed?Chronos said:This would make for an interesting experiment. You could wire some bulbs in series using a very long coil of thin wire and see if there is a measurable time interval between the first and last bulb lighting up.
How old are you, anyhow? I'm going to have to start calling you 'Grampa', since the last TV with a motor was built in 1935!Lyuokdea said:Thus the electrons that come power your T.V. the second you turn it on were electrons that were probably already inside the TV very close to the motor when you turned the power on, they were not electrons all the way from the plug.
leright said:If by "electricity", you mean the flow of electrons through a conductive medium, then the electrons themselves flow at an extremely slow rate...something like 2 cm/min. However, the electromagnetic field around the wire propogates at nearly the speed of light.
Lyuokdea said:Thus the electrons that come power your T.V. the second you turn it on were electrons that were probably already inside the TV very close to the motor when you turned the power on, they were not electrons all the way from the plug.
Lyuokdea said:The best explanation of this is provided by (I think) Feynman. He gives the example of a water hose connected to your house. The electrons move very slow, so you would think it works like a hose, where you turn on the water, and it takes a minute for the water to travel through the hose, and then come out the end.
But that's not correct. To continue the example, suppose water has been flowing out the hose for a while, and you go to the nozzle and turn turn off the water. Now go back and turn off the pump and reopen the nozzle (without letting the existing water out). Now, when you turn the hose back on at the pump, even though the water should take a couple seconds to travel through the hose and come out, the water comes out instantly. This is because although the water moves at a slow speed, the pressure effect of the water travels much faster (in this case, at the speed of sound in water, I believe).
The electron should be thought of as a full water hose, because the medium (the copper wire) is full of electrons. Although the electrons move quite slowly, the "pressure effect" of the electrons moving travels very quickly (at the speed of light in the copper)
Thus the electrons that come power your T.V. the second you turn it on were electrons that were probably already inside the TV very close to the motor when you turned the power on, they were not electrons all the way from the plug.
Hope that example helps clarify the situation.
~Lyuokdea
Electricity is a form of energy that is created when electrons flow through a conductive material such as a wire. It is a fundamental part of our daily lives and is responsible for powering most of the technology we use.
The speed of electricity, also known as the velocity of electricity, can vary depending on the type of material it is traveling through. In a vacuum, electricity travels at the speed of light, which is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second. However, in conductive materials, such as copper wires, electricity travels much slower, typically around 50-99% of the speed of light.
No, the speed of electricity is not constant. It can vary depending on the medium it is traveling through, the temperature, and the voltage. In general, electricity travels faster in materials with a higher conductivity and at lower temperatures.
The speed of electricity is typically measured in meters per second (m/s) or feet per second (ft/s). Scientists use specialized equipment, such as oscilloscopes, to measure the time it takes for an electrical signal to travel a known distance. From this, they can calculate the speed of electricity in a particular material.
The speed of electricity is important for understanding and predicting how electrical systems will behave. It is also crucial for the development and improvement of technologies that rely on the transmission of electricity, such as power grids, communication systems, and electronic devices.