YooFab
What is electric current?#
Current is a flow of charge, such as electrons moving through a wire. Within the subjects of electricity and electronics, this is measured in amperes (A) and it has a direction. A current source of five amperes transports five coulombs of charge per second.
- By convention, current is shown in schematic circuit diagrams to represent a movement of positive charges, such that current moves from POSITIVE to NEGATIVE.
- In reality, electrons carry a negative charge. So, they move in the opposite direction.
- We don't get ourselves at all psychologically involved1, confused or even a tiny bit concerned over this in any way whatsoever. We simply accept that Circuit diagrams will show current moving from the positive to the Negative; in this way we Stay Positive 😯
This is a constant current generator which is connected such that all of its current flows to ground (0V).
Footnotes#
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It just isn't worth it🙃 It is a convention and nothing more. Yes it is probably wrong and so you can stay up all night worrying if you want. However, firstly this will cost you in mental health and secondly you may end up spending out a fortune for psychiatry bills. It is far better to leave these things to the long grey bearded men at CERN, who trudge endlessly on and on, along one of the disused, yet sacred particle accelerators, while pondering over subjects such as these, sometimes for a year or more. ↩