If electricity is electrons, do appliances ”consume” electrons ? Or do the electrons only ”go through” the appliance, then back to the grid? Wouldn’t that cause a build-up in the grid?
Thanks in advance!
In: Technology
Great question, and as you can see by the lack of responses, largely misunderstood.
The energy in the appliance is not caused by electrons, despite what everyome believes. Electricity needs a circuit to work an appliance. Without the circuit, there’s no power.
Bizarrely, that’s because it’s the magnetic field, created by this circuit, that gives the power to the appliance. The electrons go around and around the circuit. The magnetic field creates the power.
The electrons do lose energy as they go around and need to be “topped up” at the plant, and as more appliances are turned on, the capacity for more power is turned up. It’s not in a superconducting state thatbit conserves all power. It dissipates power as it travels.
I’m no expert, i just asked this question a while ago myself and went looking. Not sure I can add more detail.
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