Conventional vs. Electron Flow

Conventional flow assumes that current flows from the positive to the negative terminal of a power source, following the direction of positive charge movement. Electron flow, however, reflects the actual movement of electrons, which travel from the negative to the positive terminal. While conventional flow is commonly used in circuit diagrams and theory, electron flow represents the true physical process occurring within conductive materials.

#circuits #science #diy #electronics

Sources:

[RandomGuy]

I took a circuits class in uni, nothing about electric circuits was intuitive to me. I failed it lollll

[ShepsFishing]

It's so arbitrary, like the north pole of a magnet being called that because it points towards the north pole of the earth, which actually means the geographic north pole of the earth, is nearest to the south pole of the earth's magnetic field.

[ShionWinkler]

In the end they both were wrong as Electrons don't flow...

[samuels]

meanwhile AC is the vibration of electrons and nobody complains that the lines aren't labeled '+-'

This gets more confusing when you consider that electrons have negative charge, so you are describing a positive flow or presence of negative particles.

The reason there hasn't been any problems with labeling the flow direction is that we only need to know which wires shouldn't be crossed, consistency above all.

If we recolor every wire in the US, a grave inconsistency would be introduced. Every other house would have an opposite charge in its wires based on when it was built. Any modifications to existing structures would need to keep to the old system, new and old LEDs would carry opposing charge markings or some branch indicator of which system is used, power supplies would need safety measures to ensure the correct direction of power is supplied to each system.

A disaster larger than switching every unit to metric overnight, seizing every electrical project in the United States for the next hundred or more years.

[Poodleinacan]

It was considered a fluid.
I have a book of sciences from 1859 and it talks about the main 2 explainations of the time

[coreytrevor]

I was taught that he had 50/50 guess and just got it wrong😂

[peewee]

And also, it’s not like a tube with water in reality either, that is also simplified

[DZL]

And the dichotomy has made millions of physics C students suffer.

[certainlynotmaindenless]

I studied computer science and when we learn about circuits, and how to calculate it, I failed miserably

[keithking]

It's actually more complicated than that.. confused the hell out of me as i was learning electronics. 😅

[sakatababa]

yup. that is why it is important to eradicate such fallacies like "conventional flow" from knowledge.

we should strive towards conforming to reality and not some arbitrary delusions of iconographic subject to the point of dogmatic delusion.

[kadmow]

Then the silicone processor industry started notung "holes" flow opposite to electrons... Hilarious...

[DragonProtector]

Why would you follow conventional just because of some dude. Credibility doesn't matter that much. Electrons are negatively charged. They will come from the negative terminal. _GOD.!_ Society drives me up the wall Sometimes.
I'm.
Done with the internet for today.