Electricity doesn’t travel through wires

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I saw a few youtube videos explaining that electricity doesn’t actually travel through wires but directly to the bulb from the battery. I understood their explanation. But now I have a doubt. Since energy flows directly to the bulb, can I shield the bulb in some way such that the circuit is complete and even then the bulb doesn’t light up?

In: Physics

13 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

You should watch the follow-up video by the same guy when he got called out for not really telling the truth in the explanation and resulting effects.

The speed at which the circuit knows its complete is different to the speed at which the energy moves to light up the lamp. The circuit checking happens at the speed of light in the dielectric, while electric charge (and thus power) happens at the speed of the conductor material…

The dielectric for most wires includes the insulation and air around it, while the conductor material (and thus power) has to go the actual length of the wire

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