Current in a wire flows opposite to the direction of flow of electrons, what exactly is current then, if there is nothing actually flowing?

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I know that flow of electrons is not current, it is opposite to the direction of flow of electrons, is it just a convention? why such a convention was chosen if it is one. . Please correct me if you think i have very wrong assumptions.

In: Engineering

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Anonymous 0 Comments

It is a convention that was chosen at random, because it was known that there were two “kinds” of electricity that canceled each other out. This was before electrons were known about. However, that doesn’t make it “wrong.”

*Usually* what is physically happening when we talk about current is flowing electrons, however that is not necessarily true. Current is the net flow of charge, not the flow of electrons. **Current is (flow of positive charges) – (flow of negative charges)**. In a normal copper electrical wire, it’s only electrons that are moving, and they are negative. But in a battery, both positive and negative ions are moving, in opposite directions. In a semiconductor, positive “holes” and negative electrons both move. In the solar wind, electrons and protons both move. etc.

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