Benjamin franklin made a very grave mistake 250yrs ago and because of that single mistake electro physics will never be the same..
Benjamin said that electrons flow from + to -
While that was wrong.. it’s the opposite and the world refused to change it because editing textbooks would be a pain..
Isnt this sad
If early scientists had known about electrons from the beginning, nearly all of circuit theory and electromagnetism would be simpler and more intuitive today. The mathematics would work exactly the same, but the conceptual understanding would be much clearer.
This historical accident has several important consequences:
Students must learn two contradictory concepts simultaneously
Circuit diagrams use symbols based on the wrong flow direction
Many physics explanations become unnecessarily convoluted
Semiconductor theory is harder to understand
-_-
When something negative flows from A to B it is the same as something positive flowing from B to A.
Besides, the North Pole is magnetically a south pole.
@tpr said [^](/forum/redirect/post/0yAWeePe)
> When something negative flows from A to B it is the same as something positive flowing from B to A.
> Besides, the North Pole is magnetically a south pole.
You may think of it as that.. but it would disturb you more if you were taking physics 2.. kvl and kcl specifically
https://epicknowledge.pages.dev/electron-flow-direction-truth
Hole flow is a rather interesting way of looking at things. Conceptually useful. :)
I've got an old (and I mean slightly post-war) electrician's textbook (picked up in a used bookstore, for fun) that states electrons flow away from negative toward positive (as of course they do, since the electron is, by convention, said to have a negative charge.
I don't recall learning anything different from that in college, either. And I've had more than one physics class, to say the least.
Perhaps in some parts of the world there's a convention that I haven't encountered -- we all know, for example, that America and to an extent Britain use their own, uh, interesting units of measurement (although not exclusively). Perhaps some live where electrons are said to flow toward negative poles -- but that's not the convention I learned as a ute -- I mean as a youth.
Perhaps somebody has encountered a convention that says that "current" flows away from positive -- abstracting the matter a bit and ignoring that in a wire current consists of electrons. Of course, there ARE currents of positive ions, as well, flowing at times in solutions. But the whole thing is a matter of convention, anyway. If we wanted to, we could say that electrons have a sis-boom charge and that protons have a charge of sis-boom-bah.
Or we could say that electrons are charged with democrats (negative) and protons are charged with republicans (positive). Indeed, let's pass a bill and make that descriptive change!
As long as conventions are used consistently, I don't think they'll cause any trouble mathwise.
Sorry, I like Ben Franklin a lot, and so did the ladies. Let the downvotes begin. I've had my coffee.
@tpr has apparently observed that that the south pole on a magnetic compass is pushed AWAY from the north pole of the Earth, and the north pole on the compass points TOWARD the north pole of the Earth.
It's a clever and important observation, which does not surprise me since @tpr is quite obviously clever. And I mean that as a compliment, not as the word "clever" is sometimes used, rather cleverly but disparagingly, by Brits.
I'm not sure that means that the Earth's north pole is actually a magnetic south pole -- since it could also be that compasses are routinely constructed by using a south pole simply labelled as "north." I suppose I could briefly research that, but right now I've got some chess games to lose. The hippopotamus improves ONLY with experience.
But his or her (I can't recall if a gender has been indicated as yet) other point is an important mathematical and chemical observation, that is of particular importance when talking about current flow in a solution. Yes, current can also occur from the migration of positive ions in solution, flowing in the opposite direction from the tiny but wonderful electrons.
Oddly, I still remember the amount of charge on an electron to four significant figures. Proving that what we cram before tests sometimes DOES stay with us for life.
Does anybody remember Avogadro's number? Ah, the good old days before AI took over the schools and intellectual masks became easier to wear.
Suddenly, I feel an urge to type moley moley moley! Could this be the start of my second childhood? If you get the dad joke, bless you.
@Limbo-8 J
Josephson gates and Josephson logic are rather fascinating in the way they work. Really a topic worthy of investigation and a real life application of quantum technology..
Lol as you may guess I used to be a tech ( electro- mechanical,a glorified machine fixer) but you really do need a nodding acquaintance with solid state electronics to diagnose and resolve an issue ,occasionally you might have to troubleshoot a circuit board.
Boolean flow charts are your best friend ;)
What,if I may ask are your career plans? You seem to be leaning towards electrical engineering. :)
@Noflaps
Yes I remember Alvarados number, good golly,miss molly,lol intellectual adventurism so fun,not a chemist,not by any means,just the basics.
Truth be told I know a little bit about everything and not a whole lot about anything .
So the hungry mind proceeds...
Lol,you know how that is ...
OP learns about what a sign convention is. Plot twist: there are dozens if not hundreds of contradictory sign conventions that are often at the discretion of the author, not just in electromagnetism, but in many other fields. If anything it is useful that the electron charge sign was guessed wrong, so that a student can get used to this as soon as possible.
Isnt he also the dude that invented the hundred dollar bill?