What makes electricity want to move? And when it does, is it the same electrons along the way? Or is it pushing electrons out of atoms in like a domino effect?
In: Physics
It is definitely like the domino effect. Each individual electron moves relatively slowly but the way they push each other happens so quickly that on the whole, electricity moves near the speed of light.
Electricity moves because it is pushed by electric fields. This is basically the same as you using a magnet to push another magnet around on the table using its magnetic field. If you have a long chain of magnets then you can push on one at the end with your handheld magnet and they will all push on each other until the one at the other end moves.
These electric fields can come from a variety of things. A capacitor can have an electric field that exists from having a lot of electrons inside it. Like a glass of water on the table, the water wants to spread out and if you put a hole in it then the electrons will push each other out and away.
A battery is like a pump that circulates water around a tube. It takes water (electrons) and just pushes it out the other side so that it travels around again. A battery does not actually have electrons moving through it but it does have whole atoms (ions) moving through it which do push electrons out one side and suck them in the other side like a pump.
Finally, a generator also makes electricity, and that works exactly like a water wheel or a paddle wheel. The paddle will spin around and push on the water (electrons) with its paddle just like the generator spins around and the electric/magnetic fields push on the pool of electrons.
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