Direction of current flow

[gammaray]

Excellent picture showing what I am talking about.

Your picture indicates a + and - for EMF (voltage). And + and - charge Carriers. But does not define by showing direction of the "current" which should be from + to - EMF and designated as positive. V + -----I----> - V.

Even so your drawing proves what I am trying say but I must not be clear about.

The confusion I was hearing from some is that " why is current one way and flow of electrons the other?"

At this point we may have to agree to not be understanding each other.

The issue may be the mathematics that define positive current in direction of downhill EMF. Not vector motion of charge carriers.

[TMAOne]

My brain hurts.

[gammaray]

[Paul]

Thanks Mark for moving this to its own thread.

[PokeMon]

Your picture indicates a + and - for EMF (voltage). And + and - charge Carriers. But does not define by showing direction of the "current" which should be from + to - EMF and designated as positive. V + -----I----> - V.

The current is not flowing inside the plasma but outside through electronics. The high voltage ionizes the plasma and separates it into electrons and positive charge carrier with missing electrons. This works only in that way that the electrons move to the positive voltage pin, go through the voltage source to the negative. It is in my eyes irrelevant to talk about a current flow inside the plasma as the plasma can not have a current without the outer voltage source. So the plasma isn't that different than a simple resistor regarding current flow. The voltage is the cause and the source of current - so the current flow inside the plasma must follow the current flow in the voltage source. It is that simple. Or just a point of view. But the plasma is not different to a resistor regarding the consumers view. The plasma is just a consumer and not a source.

Talking about current flow in plasma is nothing else than talking about current flow in a resistor. No voltage, no current flow. And the current flows always to the positive pin of the voltage source (if current is moving at all). Whatever is necessary inside the plasma to get conductive in some way.

And yes Mark, thanks for moving this important stuff in a separate thread.

[gammaray]

Nolo contendre