Electric current (redirected from Current (electric))

electric current: see electricity.

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electric current

Movement of electric charge carriers. In a wire, electric current is a flow of electrons that have been dislodged from atoms and is a measure of the quantity of electrical charge passing any point of the wire per unit time. Current in gases and liquids generally consists of a flow of positive ions in one direction together with a flow of negative ions in the opposite direction. Conventionally, the direction of electric current is that of the flow of the positive ions. In alternating current (AC) the motion of the charges is periodically reversed; in direct current (DC) it is not. A common unit of current is the ampere, a flow of one coulomb of charge per second, or 6.24 × 10¹⁸ electrons per second.

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Electric current

The net transfer of electric charge per unit time. It is usually measured in amperes. The passage of electric current involves a transfer of energy. Except in the case of superconductivity, a current always heats the medium through which it passes.

On the other hand, a stream of electrons or ions in a vacuum, which also may be regarded as an electric current, produces no local heating. Measurable currents range in magnitude from the nearly instantaneous 10⁵ or so amperes in lightning strokes to values of the order of 10^-16 ampere, which occur in research applications.

All matter may be classified as conducting, semiconducting, or insulating, depending upon the ease with which electric current is transmitted through it. Most metals, electrolytic solutions, and highly ionized gases are conductors. Transition elements, such as silicon and germanium, are semiconductors, while most other substances are insulators. See Conduction (electricity), Displacement current, Electric insulator, Semiconductor, Superconductivity