As discussed in the electrons ‘tech terms’, the electromagnetic force dictates that all like charges repel and all opposite charges attract. Following this law, when voltage is applied to a conductor and there is a path for the current, electrons will move from the negative terminal (which repels them) to the positive terminal (which attracts them).
Each electron moves only a relatively short distance to its neighbouring atoms’ orbit. But the movement occurs at near on the speed of light (300,000,000 metres per second), the process of the flowing electrons acts like a shunting effect.
Current can flow in different ways, Alternating current (AC) and voltages vary with time. By changing the polarity of the negative and positive terminals, so the negative becomes the positive and the positive becomes the negative, the current will flow one way and then reverse its flow to the opposite direction. The process is repeated at timed intervals.
Direct current (DC) always flows in the same direction and DC voltages always have the same polarity.
The amount of current in a circuit is measured in amperes (amps). An ampere is the amount of electrons that move past a certain point in the circuit every second.
