Re: WHAT IS THE SPEED OF ELECTRICITY?

Electricity itself does not have a single "speed" in the way that physical objects do. Instead, electricity refers to the flow of electrons or other charged particles through a conductor, such as a wire. This flow of charged particles is typically referred to as an electric current, and the speed at which it travels depends on various factors, including the conductor material and the conditions of the circuit.

In most common electrical circuits, the speed of the electric current is quite slow, typically on the order of millimeters per second. This slow movement of individual electrons is due to the fact that electrons drift through the conductor in response to an electric field, colliding with atoms and other electrons along the way.

It's important to distinguish between the speed of individual electrons (drift speed) and the speed at which electrical signals or energy propagate through the circuit, which is essentially the speed of electromagnetic waves (such as light). In electrical circuits, signals or changes in voltage propagate very quickly, typically close to the speed of light, which is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second (or about 186,282 miles per second) in a vacuum.

So, while electrons themselves move relatively slowly within a wire, the electrical energy, information, or signals carried by the electrons can travel through the wire and a circuit at nearly the speed of light, depending on the properties of the materials and the geometry of the circuit. Source

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Joss Buttler
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