eli5, If electricity is moving electrons, does the generator get them back?

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So a generator is magnets and copper coil yeah? They make electricity and electricity is moving electrons. Power generators and electric stations are kilometres away. Do the copper coils get their electrons back?
Won’t the copper coil run out of electrons. How the electrons come back (if they do)?

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16 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The electrons come back, the same way a bicycle chain comes back when you pedal.

A generator pushes electrons from one end of a wire to the other. Electrons don’t like to be crowded, so if you connect the ends together, they’ll push one another around the circuit, creating current. If you don’t connect the more crowded end to the less crowded end, they can’t keep replenishing the generator, and no current will flow.

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