How does the current flow in one direction if the electrons are hoping back and forth? Shouldn’t the net current be zero?
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Think about jumping on a jump rope. It doesn’t take much work to swing the jump rope around yourself, but it does take a little bit of work. But the jump rope isn’t going anywhere, it is just going up and down. Nevertheless it still takes a bit of work to make it go around. Now imagine if it is the jump rope that’s the one doing the work and it is dragging your hands in small circles like a crank.
The power company is the one jumping the rope and you simply attach small cranks to it and pull out power.
Light are like the air resistance in our jump rope analogy. When electricity is going through a wire there is nearly zero air resistance, like doing jump rope in space. But when you turn on a light you are adding resistance. Just like jumping on a jump rope makes you get sweaty and hot, so does the light, only it gets so hot that it emits light. You do too, but our eyes simply can’t see it.
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