When we talk about charge of an electron, why do we not use the negative sign?
In: Chemistry
Because electrons carry an elementary charge.
We simply define it as negative because we have 2 different types of charges, and we know equal charges repel each other, but ultimately there is nothing “positive” about a proton. It’s just convention to make math make sense.
When electricity was first discovered, it was believed that electrons flowed from positive to negative, however electrons actually move from negative to positive. It’s just a way for humans to make sense of it
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