Electron drift velocity does not explain observed results

Question

Where does energy come from?

If a light bulb is connected to a generator 186,000 miles away, it will take one second before the bulb lights up. (Hint: speed of light) But, electrons, the supposed carrier of current and energy, only move 23 micro-meters per second.

So, where does the energy come from that lights the bulb? The electrons only moved 23 micro-meters. So how did the energy get into the light bulb?

Should we redefine current flow? Can this be answered without dragging Mr. Poynting into the discussion?

Thanks for your consideration,

Cheers,

Toby

Have you wondered about sound traveling soon fast in air? – Cosmas Zachos Feb 04 '18 at 01:04 — Cosmas Zachos, Feb 04 '18 at 01:04

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 03 '18 at 22:19

0

It is not the electron being sent from the generator that reaches the light bulb. It only pushes on its neighbor, which pushes on the next and so on. Until the adjacent electrons move through the bulb filament. That "push" is moving - propagating - at near the speed of sound. The more packed and the more rigid the material, the faster that signal is propagating. Not the electrons themselves.

answered Feb 03 '18 at 22:19

Steeven

50,707

How does the poynting vector, https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/147511/what-is-the-poynting-vector-of-an-electron figure into the current flow and energy transmission through a conductor to a load? – Toby Feb 04 '18 at 17:33

Electron drift velocity does not explain observed results

1 Answers1