electrical ??

teddy52food · Mar 26, 2009

When you pass a conductor through a magnetic field, electricity is produced that travels at the speed of light (186000 miles per second). No matter how fast or slow you move the wire , the speed stays the same. Can anyone explain? If you shoot a bullet 2000 feet per second, the object that you hit will never go faster than the bullet. Also can anyone explain why the speed of light and electricity are the same? In a tractor generator when the speed increases , the voltage goes up but the speed of the current remains constant. ??????

buickanddeere · Mar 26, 2009

Light, sound and electricity each have a variance in speed. Depending on the medium the light, sound or electricity is traveling through.
The speed of light is quoted in the fine print as traveling through a vacuum. Push light through oil or water and the speed drops dramatically.
That's why the light traveling through the thicker parts of your eyeglasses. Takes long to travel and bends. Compared to the light traveling through the thinner part of the lenses. Same principal applies why the oar used to paddle your boat appears to "bend" where it enters the water.
Your question is similar to asking why the bullet travels faster out the barrel. Compared to how fast the firing pin was traveling when it hit the primer.
All these basics are covered in highschool math, physics and science classes.

John B. · Mar 26, 2009

It's not how fast you pass a conductor thru a magnetic field but it's the reaction that takes place inside the conductor. The electrons will react at the same speed when disturbed. It just happens more often when the speed is increased such as in a generator or alternator.

Bob · Mar 26, 2009

WHERE did you get the idea the speed of light is constant as it passes through different mediums?

Never seen the "bent stick in the water" trick?
Bent stick syndrome

RAB · Mar 26, 2009

It is moving electrons (normally) that are the current. Electrons only move a few millimetres each second, So depends on how you look at it really. Oh , and it needs to be changing lines of flux so you must remember to move your conductor in the correct direction. 90 degrees can make (or break) your circuit!
RAB

Janicholson · Mar 26, 2009

Electrons do not travel at the speed of light. Even atom smashers have a tough time making them go 99.99% the speed of light. The electrons are like a hose filled with marbles. If you push one in one end, a different marble comes out the other end. If a person were to use a 10ft piece of OO gauge copper wire to light a flashlight bulb with a AAA battery, battery electrons might take an hour to be found back at the battery Plus end!
If the wire is not connected to anything on either end, the voltage just pushes electrons toward one end making it negative, while the other eng has fewer than needed, and becomes positive. The faster the wire moves, the greater the vlotage. JimN

Stan - Florida · Mar 26, 2009

buickanddeere,

Just curious about something. I"m seeing posts from a buickddeere. Has someone copied your handle? Your answers are always so right on, that it makes me wonder.

Stan

buickanddeere · Mar 26, 2009

Depends on which computer I'm using. One of them mis-spells my username. I usually remember to repair the spelling about 2 seconds after posting a message.

John B. · Mar 26, 2009

I was always taught in school that electricity travels at the same speed as light. This is the first time I've heard it different!!

John B. · Mar 26, 2009

That is true you are talking how long it takes electrons to get from point A to point B. Same is true if you used a small water pump to fill a large water tower that would take long time but the flow going thru the pump is the same if you were to fill a smaller container.

A battery or a water pump has a maximum output!!

I hate that manufacurers rate vehicle batteries by CCA (cold cranking amps) You usually never reach that level any way when starting an engine. I like to think of how much reserve a battery has in case your charging system fails.

Janicholson · Mar 26, 2009

Every atom in the copper wire has electrons. (a full complement of them needed to ballance the positive charge of their nucleus. The outer (valence) electrons are used by more than one atom at a time. They wander in the wire. EMF electro motive force (volts) put into the wire from end to end with a battery, or from the middle with a moving magnetic field, pushes them along. They force the ones closest to the end of the wire through a load(light bulb filiment) where the restriction causes them to be heating the filiment as they force their way through. Then they go back to the other end of the battery, (or wire in a generator), to start again. However they are playing musical chairs all along the way, not zipping at 300 000 000 meters per second. A single electron called Wilber, for example, might get lost and ram into an atom and displace an inner layer electron and never be in the system again. while another, called fred, might wander through and be back at the battery positive side in 4 hours. The speed of the musical chairs effect, is speed of light (or so) but the people move much slower. JimN

prawnfarmer · Mar 26, 2009

An atom named Bill decides to go for a jog and is running at the speed of light and all of a sudden his best buddy atom named John comes out from around a corner and slams into Bill.
John: "Sorry Bill! Are you okay?"
Bill: " Uhhhh . . no! I really feel weird. I think I've lost an electron!".
John: "Are you sure?"
Bill: "yeah, I'm positive."

MarkB_MI · Mar 26, 2009

Well, you use the term "electricity" fairly generically. This could mean different things. For example, you could be talking about a signal that travels down a conductor. Due to induction and capacitance, the signal doesn't actually make it down the conductor at the speed of light.

Now, if you're talking about electromagnetic waves, such as radio signals or radar, it's easy enough to explain why they travel at the speed of light: Light itself is an electromagnetic wave. But the current through your conductor isn't an electromagnetic wave, it's simply current through a conductor.

The main thing is that the speed of light is an absolute: Nothing goes faster, including light itself. When you're driving down the freeway at 85 miles per hour, the light from your headlamps isn't going the speed of light plus 85 mph, it's going the speed of light.

Stan - Florida · Mar 27, 2009

Thanks for the reply.

Stan

electrical ??

teddy52food

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buickanddeere

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John B.

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Bob

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RAB

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Janicholson

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Stan - Florida

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buickanddeere

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John B.

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John B.

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