misconception
Many encyclopedias, dictionaries, and textbooks contain very clear statements about the nature of Electricity. They say this:
- Electricity is a type of energy.
- Electric current is a flow of energy.
The above statements are wrong. Yes, electrical energy does exist. However, this energy cannot be called "Electricity," since Coulombs of electricity are very different from Joules of electromagnetic energy. Energy and charge are two different things, so they cannot both be the electricity. It's not too difficult to demonstrate the mistake. Below is a collection of simple facts which show that Electricity, the stuff that flows within copper wires, is not form of energy.
In a simple electric circuit, the electricity flows slowly in a complete circle, while the energy moves differently. The electrical energy flows rapidly across the circuit, going from the source to the load but not returning. The energy does not follow the circular flow of electricity; electricity and electrical energy are two different things. No charges of electricity are gained or lost as the charges circulate within the wires, yet batteries create electrical energy from chemical energy, and light bulbs destroy the electrical energy as they convert it into light. Electrical energy takes a rapid one-way path from battery to bulb and then leaves the circuit as light, while electricity flows slowly around (and around and around) a closed-loop path and none is lost.
In a lightbulb, charges of electricity flow through the filament and back out again. None are lost. This electricity enters the light bulb through one wire, and the same amount of electricity leaves through the other wire. Yet the energy doesn't act like this at all. The light bulb uses up the electric energy: the electrical energy flows into the bulb along both wires and is transformed into heat and light. The electrical energy does not come back out through the second wire and return to the battery.
In an AC system, the charges of electricity move back and forth over a distance shorter than a ten-thousandth of a millimeter. In other words, they sit inside the wires and vibrate. That's what "Alternating Current" or AC is all about. The electricity does not move forward at all (if it did, that would be a direct current or "DC.") Yet while these charges of electricity are wiggling back and forth, at the very same time the electrical energy moves forward rapidly. Only the electricity "alternates." The electrical energy does not; the energy flows continuously forwards as waves.
If this is confusing, consider sound waves which move through collections of air molecules. Electricity is like the air which is vibrating, while the electrical energy is like sound waves which fly through the air. Sound and air are two different things, just as energy and electricity are two different things.
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- Electricity is a type of energy.
- Electric current is a flow of energy.
The above statements are wrong. Yes, electrical energy does exist. However, this energy cannot be called "Electricity," since Coulombs of electricity are very different from Joules of electromagnetic energy. Energy and charge are two different things, so they cannot both be the electricity. It's not too difficult to demonstrate the mistake. Below is a collection of simple facts which show that Electricity, the stuff that flows within copper wires, is not form of energy.
In a simple electric circuit, the electricity flows slowly in a complete circle, while the energy moves differently. The electrical energy flows rapidly across the circuit, going from the source to the load but not returning. The energy does not follow the circular flow of electricity; electricity and electrical energy are two different things. No charges of electricity are gained or lost as the charges circulate within the wires, yet batteries create electrical energy from chemical energy, and light bulbs destroy the electrical energy as they convert it into light. Electrical energy takes a rapid one-way path from battery to bulb and then leaves the circuit as light, while electricity flows slowly around (and around and around) a closed-loop path and none is lost.
In a lightbulb, charges of electricity flow through the filament and back out again. None are lost. This electricity enters the light bulb through one wire, and the same amount of electricity leaves through the other wire. Yet the energy doesn't act like this at all. The light bulb uses up the electric energy: the electrical energy flows into the bulb along both wires and is transformed into heat and light. The electrical energy does not come back out through the second wire and return to the battery.
In an AC system, the charges of electricity move back and forth over a distance shorter than a ten-thousandth of a millimeter. In other words, they sit inside the wires and vibrate. That's what "Alternating Current" or AC is all about. The electricity does not move forward at all (if it did, that would be a direct current or "DC.") Yet while these charges of electricity are wiggling back and forth, at the very same time the electrical energy moves forward rapidly. Only the electricity "alternates." The electrical energy does not; the energy flows continuously forwards as waves.
If this is confusing, consider sound waves which move through collections of air molecules. Electricity is like the air which is vibrating, while the electrical energy is like sound waves which fly through the air. Sound and air are two different things, just as energy and electricity are two different things.
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