Current

Electrons in motion make up an electric current. This

electric current is usually referred to as current or
current flow, no matter how many electrons are
moving. Current is a measurement of a rate at which a
charge flows through some region of space or a conductor.
The moving charges are the free electrons found in
conductors, such as copper, silver, aluminum, and gold.
The term free electron describes a condition in some
atoms where the outer electrons are loosely bound to
their parent atom. These loosely bound electrons can
be easily motivated to move in a given direction when
an external source, such as a battery, is applied to the
circuit. These electrons are attracted to the positive terminal
of the battery, while the negative terminal is the
source of the electrons. The greater amount of charge
moving through the conductor in a given amount of
time translates into a current.

The System International unit for current is the Ampere

(A), where

That is, 1 ampere (A) of current is equivalent to 1

coulomb (C) of charge passing through a conductor in
1 second(s). One coulomb of charge equals 6.28 billion
billion electrons. The symbol used to indicate current
in formulas or on schematics is the capital letter I.
When current flow is one direction, it is called direct
current (DC). Later in the text, we will discuss the form
of current that periodically oscillates back and forth within the circuit. The present discussion will
only be
concerned with the use of direct current.
The velocity of the charge is actually an average velocity
and is called drift velocity. To understand the idea
of drift velocity, think of a conductor in which the
charge carriers are free electrons. These electrons are
always in a state of random motion similar to that of

gas molecules. When a voltage is applied across the

conductor, an electromotive force creates an electric
field within the conductor and a current is established.
The electrons do not move in a straight direction but
undergo repeated collisions with other nearby atoms.
These collisions usually knock other free electrons
from their atoms, and these electrons move on toward
the positive end of the conductor with an average velocity
called the drift velocity, which is relatively a slow
speed. To understand the nearly instantaneous speed of
the effect of the current, it is helpful to visualize a long
tube filled with steel balls.

It can be seen that a ball introduced in one end of the

tube, which represents the conductor, will immediately
cause a ball to be emitted at the opposite end of the
tube. Thus, electric current can be viewed as instantaneous,
even though it is the result of a relatively slow
drift of electrons.