Science Forums 2

[Tim_Lou]

yes, current in a wire (for example) is a result of electric field within the wire. (be it static or non-static)

and no, things do not necessary follow the field lines. the field lines only indicate force and hence acceleration when a charge is placed in that position. and acceleration does not necessary mean the direction of motion. for example, a particle can move in circle while the field is pointing toward the center of the circle.

as santus said, electrons in a wire are like particles bounding around. they are moving in very random fashion. when there is a field presented, they will still be bumping into things and colliding randomly. However, they will slowing tend to moving to the a higher potential (they are negatively charged). a great analogy is water falling from high ground to low ground in a river full of obstacles. (you can think of imaginary positive charges falling from high potential to low potential) people do not discuss about electrons moving in a wire, rather, they say positive charges moving in the oppositing direction. its just the way things are.

btw welcome to the forum.