The net transfer of electric charge per unit time. It is usually measured in amperes. The passage of electric current involves a transfer of energy. Except in the case of superconductivity, a current always heats the medium through which it passes. For a discussion of the heating effect of a current See also: Joule's law .
On the other hand, a stream of electrons or ions in a vacuum, which also may be regarded as an electric current, produces no local heating. Measurable currents range in magnitude from the nearly instantaneous 105 or so amperes in lightning strokes to values of the order of 10-16 A, which occur in research applications.
All matter may be classified as conducting, semiconducting, or insulating, depending upon the ease with which electric current is transmitted through it. Most metals, electrolytic solutions, and highly ionized gases are conductors. Transition elements, such as silicon and germanium, are semiconductors, while most other substances are insulators.
Electric current may be direct or alternating. Direct current (dc) is necessarily unidirectional but may be either steady or varying in magnitude. By convention it is assumed to flow in the direction of motion of positive charges, opposite to the actual flow of electrons. Alternating current (ac) periodically reverses in direction.
Conduction current
This is defined as the transfer of charge by the actual motion of charged particles in a medium. In metals the current is carried by free electrons which migrate through the spaces between the atoms under the influence of an applied electric field. Although the propagation of energy is a very rapid process, the drift rate of the individual electrons in metals is only of the order of a few centimeters per second. In a superconducting metal or alloy the free electrons continue to flow in the absence of an electric field after once having been started. In electrolytic solutions and ionized gases the current is carried by both positive and negative ions. In semiconductors the carriers are the limited number of electrons which are free to move, and the “holes” which act as positive charges.
Displacement current
When alternating current traverses a condenser, there is no physical flow of charge through the dielectric (insulating material), but the effect on the rest of the circuit is as if there were a continuous flow. Energy can pass through the condenser by means of the so-called displacement current. James Clerk Maxwell introduced the concept of displacement current in order to make complete his theory of electromagnetic waves. See also: Alternating current; Conduction (electricity); Dielectric materials; Direct current; Displacement current; Electric insulator; Electrical resistance; Free-electron theory of metals; Semiconductor; Superconductivity
