- #36
f95toli
Science Advisor
Gold Member
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The "speed of electricity" IS the speed of the electromagnetic waves; in a way you can think of electrons as the "medium" that the wave travels in (this is not quite correct, but close).
The fact that electrons happen to move around in the medium is more or less irrelevant; there is certainly no direct relation between their speed and the speed of the wave (or equivalenty the speed at which energy can be transfered).
The bulb lights up instantly because the necessary energy is carried by the wave; not the electrons (although in order for the bulb to light up that energy has to be converted from electromagnetic energy to heat via various scattering processes).
The fact that electrons happen to move around in the medium is more or less irrelevant; there is certainly no direct relation between their speed and the speed of the wave (or equivalenty the speed at which energy can be transfered).
The bulb lights up instantly because the necessary energy is carried by the wave; not the electrons (although in order for the bulb to light up that energy has to be converted from electromagnetic energy to heat via various scattering processes).