Electricity must flow in a circle

To understand the wiring we did for the electric system, one must have some idea of electricity. Please read ahead for my hopefully not botched description. Some smaller points I did not mention for the goal of simplicity - others, I may have forgotten or just don't know.

The energy of the electricity must flow in a circle. Otherwise it is static energy and no good to put to work.

The idea.



The idea, with wires.



The exact electrons that go out from one end do not ever have to come back. Another electron may take its place, coming from the incoming pressure of the first one. Consider that the earth can make a connection.



One way it can be looked at, is that the energy we harvest from what we call electricity, is the pushing power, stemming from their electric repulsion to each other.

In fact, the net speed of electrons that flow to create electric current is slow. This movement is also called the drift velocity. The equation that I will not use, but take Wikipedia's word on it, and also only applies to direct current, is that they travel somewhere around 3 feet in 1 hour.

However, the electrical energy flowing through this space can move at the speed of light, depending on what it goes through. Empty space = speed of light, copper wire = 95% speed of light, coaxial cable = 65% speed of light. All compliments of Wiki again. On the other hand, at 1% the speed of light for one second, that distance is around 10 million feet very roughly. Even though the electrons hardly more, information travels very fast.

Sort of like this,



but more like this:



Wherever we use electricity in our modern electrical systems, there is a voltage, or what can be thought of as pressure, which acts upon the electrons forcing them to move. This voltage pushes them in one direction, creating a net movement of charge. They still move on their own in every direction as well. This is directional movement on top of random movement.





Any charged particles can act upon this electric current, including a completely not chosen at random mixture of lead (Pb), lead oxide (PbO2) and submersed in sulfuric acid (H2SO4), like what happens inside a lead acid battery. If left alone, the mixture in the battery will react chemically and electrons are given off. This is because the ions in the mixture tend to go towards a lower energy state.

Car batteries are lead acid batteries.



If given a circular path (important), the electrons follow it. We put an electronic device in the way, to use that movement of charge to do something we want, like give off light.

If electrons are "pushed" back in, such as by a solar panel, or an alternator inside a car, the reaction occurs in reverse. By pushing the reaction in reverse, we are storing energy, as we would by pushing a spring together. When let go, the reaction just happens in the other direction, and electrons are shot out, pushing other electrons, pushing other electrons, thus creating electrical flow.

The idea of positive and negative was invented to be able to tell someone else which way the electricity is flowing plus doing math with it. Once they thought they figured it out, the direction from where it came was considered positive, and the direction it was going was negative.

Now we know that electricity flows the other way than what we thought we knew, ahem. The notation was not changed though.

The devices we bought were designed with a certain movement of electricity in mind. All electric equipment has instructions saying where to connect positive and where to connect negative. If it does not say, then it does not matter.