People are often terrified of touching the wires as they fear that they will catch a current type of feeling, but is it true? Does touching at the outside of the wire give you a current feel?
Does electricity travel on the outside of a wire? It is believed that electric charges in a wire can flow either in a quick way or a slow one. Sound travels through the inside of the wire but unlike the sound system, the electrical system functions outside the wire, it moves on the outside of the wire.
If you wish to know more about the electric current and its travel path, stay hooked to the article till the very end to get a good understanding of the topic.
What Is Electric Current?
Electric current, basically called electricity, is the motion of flowing electrons. Electrons consist of protons and neutrons.
Electric current means charge flow. Electricity is a very slow flow of charge. But, as far as electrical energy is concerned, it moves at a very rapid speed. Hence, electrical energy and electrical current are two different things.
Therefore, when we turn on a light it is not due to the electric current that it glows. It is due to electrical energy that it glows up, as it travels rapidly and more quickly than electrical current.
What is Electrical Energy?
Electrical energy is the energy that is derived from the movement of electrically charged particles/electrons.
Electrical energy also refers to the energy that is converted from the electric potential energy. Hence, it is a fact that all electrical energy is called potential energy before it reaches the end-use point.
Once the potential energy has been converted to electrical energy, it can be called any of the following:
- Heat energy
- Light energy
- Motion energy
What Is Electricity Generation?
Electricity generation is the procedure of generating electrical energy from all other kinds of energy.
The basic principle used in the phenomenon of electricity generation was discovered by the British Scientist, Michael Faraday in the early 1830s.
For the use and functioning of electrical utilities, electricity generation is the first step in the delivery of electricity to the users.
Power stations generate electricity with the use of electromechanical generators. It is principally produced by heat engines that are fuelled by nuclear fission or chemical combustion.
How Does Electricity Travel Through a Wire?
Electricity, which can also be called an electric current, is the flow or the movement of an electrical charge from one conductor to another.
The electric current which comes into your house through the copper wires consists of many moving electrons. Electrons include the protons as well as the neutrons.
The protons and neutrons present in copper metal do not propagate. In fact, the true movement of every electron is a time-consuming process.
The electrons move very slowly and steadily. Since the electrons move at such a low speed and cover a distance of only 1.2 inches in a minute, people often wonder how light turns on so quickly then?
The answer to this question is that as soon as we turn on the switch for the light, the electrons are set in a motion. This pushes the electrons one after the other.
If one electron is forced to move, the rest of them start moving on their own due to the push caused by the others. Thus, this is how an electric current passes through a wire.
Hence, when we turn on a switch, the electrons start to move instantly, and immediately the light turns on.
You don’t have to wait for long for the electrons to start working because electrical energy is at work.
As soon as we flip the switch, light is generated and we obtain the glow of light immediately. This happens due to electrical energy, not electric current.
Where Does Current Travel in a Wire?
In sound wires, the currents travel through the inside of the wires. But, as far as the current i.e. electric current or the electricity is concerned, the current travels on the outside of the wire. It happens because electric energy is composed of two types of fields. The first one is the magnetic field and the second one is the electrical field.
These magnetic and electrical fields are created due to the activities of the moving electrons; they exist in the space around the wires.
Hence, the electric current or electricity moves outside of the wire. Unlike the electric current, sound travels inside an air-filled tube in the form of compression waves.
But, unlike the travel of sound and its compressed waves, electrons or electricity travel through the outside of the wire. This is how the travel of electricity differs from that of the travel of sound.
How Far Will Electricity Travel in a Wire?
Electric current cannot be transmitted. It stays inside a conductor and travels via it too. The best it can do is travel through the air on an ion pathway.
Electric current can be converted to electromagnetic radiation. Then, it can go up to astronomical distances. On the other end, it can even be converted back to electricity.
The electric current can travel up to 2500 km per second before it reverses its direction or pathway. Hence, the transmission length of the line cannot exceed 2500 km at a speed of 60 Hz or a distance of 3000 km at 50 Hz AC.
So, the maximum length an electric current is believed to pass through at a time is 2500 km. This complies with a speed of 60 Hz.
Related Questions
How Fast Does Electricity Travel Through Power Lines?
Drift velocity is a type of velocity wherein the average speed of the electrons traveling in a conductor is about 1 mm per second.
The electromagnetic wave which ripples through the electrons travels at a speed close to that of light.
Note that the dimensions of the wire and electrical properties such as its inductance, affect the propagation speed. But the speed of electricity across the power lines will be approximately ninety percent of the speed of light i.e. about 2,70,000 km/s.
Whenever we switch on a light and it glows up instantly, let this be known to you that it is due to electrical energy and not due to electric current.
Electrical energy travels at a very high speed whereas electric current travels very slowly.
Hence, now we know that the speed of electricity through the power lines is very high, almost next to the speed of light.
Does Electricity Travel Faster in a Straight Line vs Round Bends in the Wire?
Electric current travels through a conductor but that process comes into motion when one electron is put into a state of motion and that electron pushes all the other electrons.
Current can travel through round coiled wires as well as wires straight as a line too. However, one must take care of the speed difference, if there is any.
To calculate the speed difference between the two types of wires, one would require a piece of special equipment that can be used for the same. A piece of special equipment that can monitor the speed difference between the two wires.
For cables that are too thin or too long, you are bound to get a voltage drop but no kind of time lag will be present as such.
Hence, according to this theory, we may infer that there is no difference between a straight wire and around one.
Only one exception might be present, the round wire might heat up quickly because the round shape conserves more heat in less time.
But this has nothing related to the speed of the current. Hence, there is no difference between the speeds of a straight and a rounded wire.
Electricity, in a generalized sense, travels very slowly, it moves only when one of the electrons has been set into motion. It is in turn to this push that all other electrons start to move.
Does Electricity Travel Through Air?
The insulation or conduction properties of a medium decide whether electricity can flow through it or not. Typically, electricity cannot travel through air as air is an excellent electrical insulator. Therefore, the charges cannot propagate through it.
Final Thoughts
Therefore, we get to know that electric current travels through the outside of a wire and the speed of the electrons is super slow.
Electricity, which is also called an electric current, travels through a conductor and moves when all the electrons start pushing against each other and move at a fixed pace.
There is no major difference between the speed of electricity in a straight wire or a round wire. The only exception found between them is that the coiled wires heat up more quickly than the straight wires.
Hence, I hope that this article was able to clarify all your doubts and queries regarding the flow of electric current!