Conventional Current Flow

on . Posted in Electrical Engineering

Conventional current flow is the assumed direction of flow of electric current in a circuit.  In conventional current notation, the direction of current flow is considered to be from the positive (+) terminal of a voltage source to the negative (-) terminal.  This convention was established historically before the discovery of the electron and is based on the idea of positive charges moving.

In reality, electrons are negatively charged particles, and they move from the negative terminal to the positive terminal within a circuit.  However, due to the historical convention established by early scientists who were not aware of the electron's charge, the concept of conventional current flow persists.

So, when you see a schematic diagram or equations describing the flow of current in a circuit using conventional notation, it implies that positive charges are moving from the positive to the negative terminal, even though, in reality, it's the negatively charged electrons that are moving in the opposite direction.

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Tags: Electrical Current