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Electrons after drop voltage

Physics Asked by Omar Ali on December 22, 2020

I know that the voltage between two terminals of a battery causes the electrons to move through the wire, and I also know that the voltage in a circuit is distributed among the number of resistors in a circuit. If the electrons loses all their voltage after the last resistor, what will happen to the electrons? Will they stop moving or will they continue?

Does part of the potential energy each of the electrons has will convert to other kinds of energy such as kinetic energy? If some are converted to KE, will the KE be affected by the resistor?

2 Answers

The voltage between the battery terminals is a difference in potential, key word being difference. So if for example if an electron leaving one terminal was originally at 25 eV of energy and entered the other terminal at 17 eV of energy it would be a 9 volt battery, and if it left with 59 eV and entered with 50 eV it would still be a 9 volt battery. In each case the electron lost 9 eV of energy, and that energy lost is distributed among the resistors. They still have 17 or 50 or however many electron volts of energy necessary to keep them moving. In the resistors that energy might be converted into light energy, heat, motion, or other ways to dissipate or use energy. The remaining energy stays in the electrons as their kinetic energy, which is less than what it started because it lost 9 electron volts.

Answered by Faraz Masroor on December 22, 2020

If the electron has crossed the last resistor, no extra energy is required, because there is no opposition (resistance) to overcome.

This can be imagined in a situation where a body is thrown in space. It can displace itself till infinity without any extra energy. Thus once electron has crossed the last hurdle, it can reach the positive terminal of battery without any energy. The portion of the circuit that the electron is passing has 0 resistance or is a superconductor. You must be knowing current doesn't require any potential difference in a superconductor to flow.

Answered by Shubham on December 22, 2020

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