- #1
horsecandy911
- 17
- 0
My textbook tells me that the voltage in an electric circuit only drops across a resistor. I don't quite understand this; doesn't this suggest that the electrons in the current are moving at a constant velocity? I would think that, since they are moving under the influence of an electrostatic force, they are being accelerated (and then slowing down when they encounter resistors). In that case, the potential energy would be being converted to kinetic energy, and the potential of points in the circuit would drop steadily as we moved along the circuit.
This raises the wider question of the velocity of electrons in a circuit. If they are moving at constant velocity, how do they get started moving? Is there a brief moment when the circuit is completed during which everything gets accelerated? Thanks for your help.
This raises the wider question of the velocity of electrons in a circuit. If they are moving at constant velocity, how do they get started moving? Is there a brief moment when the circuit is completed during which everything gets accelerated? Thanks for your help.