The direction of current flow and electrons has been a very common question. It is the most common but most asked question as well. Many have confusions about the answer, we all know that current is the flow of electrons. So why it always have to be the opposite? Why their direction would be different? Today I will try to get you rid out of this confusion.
First of all, we need to know what is current? An electric current is a stream of charged particles, such as electrons and ions, moving through an electrical circuit or space. It is the flow of a positive electric charge. The strength of current flow in any medium depends on the difference of voltage in that medium. It is measured as the total rate of flow of electric charge through a surface or into a control volume.
And electron flow is what actually happens and electrons flow out of the negative terminal, through the circuit, and into the positive terminal of the source. It won't make any difference as long as the current is flowing consistently. The flow of electrons is termed electron current. Electrons flow from the negative terminal to the positive. Conventional current or simply current behaves as if positive charge carriers cause current to flow. Conventional current flows from the positive to the negative.
Electrons are negatively charged. If there is a negative flow of charge in one direction then this is effectively the same as a positive flow of charge n the opposite direction. In metal wires, the current is carried by negatively charged electrons, so the positive current is always in the opposite direction. The individual electron velocity in a metal wire is typically millions of kilometers per hour. The drift velocity can be a hundred million to a trillion kilometers per hour. Electrons being negatively charged flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal of the voltage source. They are attracted to the positive end of a battery and forced by the negative end. So when the battery is up to something that allows the electron to flow through it, they flow from positive to negative. So the current flow is considered in the direction opposite to the direction of the flow of electrons. The simple answer is current flow is from positive to negative and electron flow is from negative to positive. That's why they are always in the opposite direction.
To know more: current flow direction
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_current
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