Types of Electric Current

What is Electric Current?

The flow of electric charges is known as electric current. In earlier times, it was considered that correct flow was due to the movement of positive charges from the positive terminal to the negative terminal. But after the discovery of electrons, the conventional wisdom was proven wrong as the positive charge is nothing but the deficiency of the electron....

Electric Current Definition

Electric current is the flow of electric charge through a conductor. It is a measure of the rate at which electric charge passes through a particular point in a circuit. In simpler terms, electric current is the movement of electrons or ions in a closed circuit, typically resulting from the presence of a voltage difference across the circuit....

Electric Current Formula

The electric current can be represented as the rate of flow of electric charge (q) which mathematically can be represented as follows:...

Unit of Electric Current

As Electric Charge and Time come under the Fundamental quantities and their units are respectively Coulomb and second. So by the definition of Electric Current, its unit is Coulomb/second....

What Is Electromotive Force or EMF?

Normally, in a conductor, Electrons are present, and they are not stationary, they keep on moving in random directions, and due to their randomness, the overall displacement of all electrons becomes zero, and hence, no current is produced. In order to produce current, some external force is required to align electrons in one direction and make them move in that one direction, this external force is known as Electromotive Force and is also famous as EMF. It is nothing but the voltage applied to produce current....

Types of Electric Current

There are two types of electric current, that are,...

Alternating Current

Electric current with its direction and values keep changing is known as Alternating Current. The values of AC in one direction increase from 0 to peak value then falls down to 0 again, then in opposite direction increase from 0 to peak value then come back to 0....

Direct Current

Electric current with the same direction always is known as Direct Current. As the direction of DC remains the same, so its frequency is 0....

Conventional Current Flow Vs Electron Flow

Aspect Conventional Current Flow Electron Flow Description Traditional description of electric charge movement Modern and accurate description of electric charge movement Direction of Current Positive terminal to negative terminal of voltage source Negative terminal to positive terminal of voltage source Basis Established before the discovery of the electron Based on the movement of electrons through conductors Charge Movement Positive charges are considered to move in the direction of current Negatively charged electrons move in the direction of current Accuracy Historically used but not reflective of actual charge movement Reflects the actual movement of charge in a circuit...

Properties of Electric Current

Various properties of Electric Current are :...

Ohm’s Law

German physicist Georg Simon Ohm stated that the current flowing in a wire is directly proportional to the voltage drop across it. According to Ohm’s Law, the current flowing through a wire is directly proportional to the voltage applied at the ends of the wire provided that the temperature and conductivity remain the same....

Effects of Electric Current

There are different effects that can be noticed due to the flow of electric current in a wire, for example, when current passes through a resistor, the resistor has a property of resisting which does not let the whole current pass but since energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it is converted in heat energy and is released in the form of heat, this effect is called as the heating effect of current. Similarly, we have the magnetic and chemical effects of electric current....

Solved Examples of Electric Current

There are some solved examples of electric current for better understanding given below :...

Electric Current – FAQs

What is electric current?...