Electrons, Electric Current

Question

In a DC circuit through a wire, is saying:

" Electrons are a flow of matter and electric charge. Protons are a flow of electric current and matter. "

the same as saying Electric Current/Electric Energy flows from the positive terminal through/by protons to the negative terminal while at the same time electrons with their electric charge flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal.

If so, then an extension question the first is; why then is it said that in a DC circuit through a wire, it doesn't matter which way the current is said to flow as long as you are consistent with which ever one you pick in using it in the circuit,

if very clearly it is true that electric current and energy start from the positive terminal and flow to the negative.

EDIT:

" Electrons and protons are matter, not energy. A flow of electrons is NOT a flow of energy, it is a flow of matter and a flow of electric charge. Same goes for protons: moving protons are electric current, but they're also a matter-flow.

Answer 1

I think you need to rethink your first statement, "Electrons are a flow of matter and electric charge. Protons are a flow of electric current and matter," because it's simply wrong. Electrons are fundamental particles with various properties and protons are a combination of up and down quarks. They both have a charge and create a current when in motion but they are not "flows of matter" nor electric charge or current.

As for your second question, the reason it doesn't matter which way you say the current flows as long as you're consistent, is that a flow of positive charges in one direction is (as far as charge distribution is concerned) equivalent to a flow of negative charges in the opposite direction.

Answer 2

Electrons and protons are not a flow of anything. They are particles which have charge and energy (along with other properties). Electric current is a flow of charge.

No the first statement (indented) is not the same as that underneath it. Electric current in metal wires is usually a flow of electrons from the -ve terminal to the +ve. But in some cases (eg in semi-conductors) it can be a flow of 'holes' which are the absence of bound electrons. Unlike conduction electrons which are not attached to any particular atom, 'holes' are bound to atoms and jump from one atom to the next.

In answer to your 2nd question, usually it does not matter which way round current flows because all we want to know is how much current is flowing, not which direction it is going. This is especially true where the current is alternating and flows in both directions (though not at the same time).

Answer 3

The answer is no, the two statements do not mean the same thing. And the reason is that they are both incorrect in their details.

Statement 1: "Electrons are a flow of matter and electric charge. Protons are a flow of electric current and matter."

Electrons and protons are not a flow of anything, they are just particles (and they both have mass and charge). If they move we might call that a flow. And charges flowing is called electric current.

Statement 2: "Electric Current/Electric Energy flows from the positive terminal through/by protons to the negative terminal while at the same time electrons with their electric charge flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal."

• Let's first get the definition clear: A terminal is the name of the end of a battery (so if the circuit contains no battery or some similar source, this makes no sense to mention). The positive terminal is the battery-end with highest electric potential.

Now, try to follow me in the next few lines of thought:

1. Electrons as negative charge are gathered at the negative terminal.
2. They repel each other, so electrons are squeezed up to the positive terminal. (You can say that they are repelled from the negative or attracted by the positive terminal - either way gives same result).
3. These electrons flowing is charge flowing so this is called an electric current.

Protons are not flowing in metal wire circuits, only electrons. In general, as another answer points out, the flow of charge doesn't have to be electrons (or protons), it could also be ions or "holes" and so on. That depends on the type of circuit. So in general, we can simply call it positive charge carriers and negative charge-carriers.

why then is it said that in a DC circuit through a wire, it doesn't matter which way the current is said to flow as long as you are consistent with which ever one you pick in using it in the circuit, if very clearly it is true that electric current and energy start from the positive terminal and flow to the negative.

The answer is: Because people had to agree on something to talk about circuit in general.

Your second statement above was almost correct except the fact that protons do not move, only electrons do (when we are talking about regular usual wire-circuit). This is good to know to understand what happens - but it is not necessary to know if you just wish to work with circuits. Because

• negative charge (electrons) moving from negative to positive terminal corresponds directly to
• positive charge moving the other way.

Even if no positive charge actually moves, this is how it looks from the outside.

So, as mentioned, in some types of circuits (e.g. ion-based), positive (and negative) charge does move, while in others (wire-circuits) it doesn't and only negative charge moves. To avoid these details every time, we just always say that positive charge is moving as well.

And to agree on something, it has simply been chosen that the direction of current is always in the direction of the positive charge. Sometimes positive charge is moving, and sometimes it isn't and we don't care unless we need to look deeper into what charge-carriers we actually have.