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As I am taught in school that electric current is the flow of electrons, but in some places I faced another definitions like transfer of energy between electrons. I thought that it is the transfer of charges between electrons in a specific time. So what is really the electric current? Because I still somehow uncertained about this idea.

DilithiumMatrix
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user225430
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  • 'flow of electrons' is basically correct (although it can, technically, be any flow of charge --- and usually charge is carried by electrons). Looking this up online should provide a good explanation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_current, is there a particular aspect of the definition you're confused about? – DilithiumMatrix Nov 27 '15 at 19:53
  • If it was the flow of electrons,then isn't of a low speed? Since electrons usually move in a conductor in a very low speed,whereas electric current's speed is similar to the speed of light. – user225430 Nov 27 '15 at 20:04
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_current#Drift_speed – DilithiumMatrix Nov 27 '15 at 20:07
  • There is no "transfer of charges between electrons". Each electron always has exactly $q_e = -e$ of charge. – Spirko Nov 27 '15 at 20:34

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Current is not exactly a flow of electrons but rather a flow of charge.

Electrons carry charge, so it is related and you might hear it like that here and there. But remember that not only electrons can carry charge, other types of particles can do that to. We still call it current in those cases, because current is just charge per second moving through.

Current is written in amperes or amps. $1\;\mathrm{A}$ equals one Coulomb per second $1\;\mathrm{C/s}$. Since the electron has the charge of:

$$q_{electron}=1.6\times10^{-19} \,\mathrm{C}$$

then $1\;\mathrm{A}$ which is $1\;\mathrm{C/s}$ corresponds to $1/q_{electron}=6.2\times 10^{18}$ electrons flowing through per second (if we are talking about a system, where electrons are the charge-carriers of course). That is a lot of electrons.

Steeven
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