Skip to main content

All Questions

10 votes
3 answers
2k views

Does an electric current flow in an open circuit?

When the positive and negative terminals of a battery is connected through a wire, an electric current flows across the circuit. Generally, electrons are the ones that flow (from negative terminal to ...
Suyash Ishan's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
74k views

How can be the neutral wire at 0 volts when current flowing through it?

Voltage is potential difference, and current flows because of voltage. So if the voltage is zero, how can current flow through the neutral wire.
Ambiguit's user avatar
  • 181
9 votes
5 answers
4k views

How does the speed of electricity become the same as the speed of light?

"The field due to the battery sets up a surface charge in the wire. The surface charge is negative near the negative pole of the battery, and positive near the positive terminal, and varies more ...
Predaking Askboss's user avatar
9 votes
5 answers
3k views

How does the electrical ground rod work?

I was reading this article about shock current path, but it seems to be contradicting answers that I have seen on this site regarding electric shock. I can't find the original question but it was ...
Swiss Gnome's user avatar
9 votes
5 answers
4k views

Why is it easier to raise AC current to high voltage than DC?

In my country (and maybe all around the world I don't know) once electricity has been generated, it is then raised to 200k Volts for transportation. I know this is to reduce the loss. Given $P=U.I$ ...
Will's user avatar
  • 201
9 votes
3 answers
8k views

When the voltage is increased does the speed of electrons increase or does the electron density increase?

I am just a high school student trying to self study, please excuse me if this question sounds silly to you. I know that current is a product of the speed of electrons and the electron density.When ...
whae's user avatar
  • 1,033
8 votes
8 answers
4k views

Clarification of the concept "less resistance means less heating" in a wire

So my textbook says that the reason cables that are suppose to carry high currents, are thicker that those that are meant to carry lesser current, is that "less resistance (of the wire) means less ...
El Flea's user avatar
  • 340
8 votes
5 answers
29k views

How does insulating footwear prevent an electric shock?

The reason I have always heard to explain the reduction of electric shock when we wear insulating footwear goes as follows: When electricity passes from our body to the ground, an electric circuit ...
Always Learning Forever's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
71k views

What is the voltage of an average carpet static shock? Can you make it lethal?

I think I heard somewhere that it was in the thousands of volts, but it had extremely, extremely low amps. Could you somehow transform the current to make it larger or something? Or does the equation ...
HyperLuminal's user avatar
  • 1,958
8 votes
9 answers
6k views

Why does electricity need wires to flow?

If you drop a really heavy ball the ball's gravitational potential energy will turn into kinetic energy. If you place the same ball in the pool, the ball will still fall. A lot of kinetic energy will ...
dfg's user avatar
  • 2,009
8 votes
4 answers
2k views

What's the point of an RMS value? [duplicate]

the RMS (root mean square) value of $f(x)$ is defined as: $$f(x)_{rms}=\sqrt{\frac{\int^b_a (f(x))^2dx}{b-a}}$$ Why do we do this very specific thing of taking the square, the mean, and then the ...
Natrium's user avatar
  • 167
8 votes
3 answers
7k views

Low power loss in electricity transmission lines [duplicate]

To reduce the heat lost during transmission of electricity, we say we increase the voltage of transmission, taking the formula $I^2R$ in consideration. Couldn't I consider $V^2/R$? If I consider the ...
MrObjectOriented's user avatar
8 votes
4 answers
51k views

Is it possible to flow current in open circuit?

As I know a battery is an example of a closed circuit where it can then produce electricity , electrons will flow from negative pole to positive. A chemistry representation of this battery is for ...
andio's user avatar
  • 295
8 votes
1 answer
7k views

Does rubber insulate lightning more effectively than air?

Last week, an Ars Technica writer was struck by lightning. He says that the 911 operators were concerned about whether or not he was wearing shoes at the time, but he didn't think it would make much ...
Ullallulloo's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
22k views

Getting Deep into Drift Velocity

We know for a metallic conductor Current $\frac{I}{enA} = v$ where $v$ is drift velocity , $e$ is the charge of an electron, $n$ is no of electrons per unit volume and $A$ is area of cross section. ...
Shirshak Bajgain's user avatar

15 30 50 per page
1 2
3
4 5
53