Conventional. So far as I know, the only ones to use actual electron flow is the FAA. Schemes for solid state devices always have the arrows pointing from P type layers to N type.
Oh, the wonderful debate that always springs from this...
Speaking only for myself, and as someone who learned his electronics back in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was mainly tubes, I am aware that tubes run on electron flow, but I tend to think in terms of conventional current. having said that, when I look at a schematic, neither of those things is on my mind.
It doesn;t really - in my view - matter whether there are electrons rushing one way through a resistor or conventional current flowing the other way. WHat matters is that one end of the resistor is more positive than the other, or whatever else is appropriate in the instance. My meter doesn't care or determine which system caused the voltage it measures. And I don;t see schematics as having to decide on it.
A rectifier diode symbol on a drawing "points" one direction. I don;t care if I use conventional current, which flows the way the arrow points, of if I use electron flow which means they go the other way. Either way I am going to find a positive voltage on my filter cap. Or whatever. To me, those two systems are about trying to understand how the circuit functions, and whichever one you find the easiest to understand, would be where I;d start.
If I have a triode tube, the harder it conducts, the greater will be the current through it, and so the greater will be the voltage drops across the cathode resistor and plate resistor. The net effect in a typical stage would be the plate voltage drops and the cathode voltage rises.
Others may disagree with this viewpoint.
Speaking only for myself, and as someone who learned his electronics back in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was mainly tubes, I am aware that tubes run on electron flow, but I tend to think in terms of conventional current. having said that, when I look at a schematic, neither of those things is on my mind.
It doesn;t really - in my view - matter whether there are electrons rushing one way through a resistor or conventional current flowing the other way. WHat matters is that one end of the resistor is more positive than the other, or whatever else is appropriate in the instance. My meter doesn't care or determine which system caused the voltage it measures. And I don;t see schematics as having to decide on it.
A rectifier diode symbol on a drawing "points" one direction. I don;t care if I use conventional current, which flows the way the arrow points, of if I use electron flow which means they go the other way. Either way I am going to find a positive voltage on my filter cap. Or whatever. To me, those two systems are about trying to understand how the circuit functions, and whichever one you find the easiest to understand, would be where I;d start.
If I have a triode tube, the harder it conducts, the greater will be the current through it, and so the greater will be the voltage drops across the cathode resistor and plate resistor. The net effect in a typical stage would be the plate voltage drops and the cathode voltage rises.
Others may disagree with this viewpoint.
The flow of electrons does come from the ground. You are correct.
Because humans are usually at ground potential, you want to segregate and control positive reception for safety. (Isolation) Current needs to be controlled for safety.
The Anode is not always positive. A device consuming power the anode is positive. A device giving power has a negative anode.
They are more concerned with current flow, rather then electron flow. If you use the old water analogy, it's easier to grasp what they are doing. (Ignore the fact that the electrons are flowing the opposite way.)
Because humans are usually at ground potential, you want to segregate and control positive reception for safety. (Isolation) Current needs to be controlled for safety.
The Anode is not always positive. A device consuming power the anode is positive. A device giving power has a negative anode.
They are more concerned with current flow, rather then electron flow. If you use the old water analogy, it's easier to grasp what they are doing. (Ignore the fact that the electrons are flowing the opposite way.)
And I thought that no one on this site had a sense of humor. What I am working on is a B+ power supply. In the schematic they show a positive voltage coming into a regulator tube at the anode or plate and leaving regulated to a different voltage through the cathode. Isn't this contrary to the way a tube works?
Dazed and confused,
WILD!
Dazed and confused,
WILD!
Yes and No.
The schematic shows current flow.
Electrons are negatively charged, hence the attraction to the positive terminal, flowing from the ground.
The "Positive" terminal is actually a "terminal lacking negatively charged electrons"
I just picture it as water flowing from the positive to save confusion.
The schematic shows current flow.
Electrons are negatively charged, hence the attraction to the positive terminal, flowing from the ground.
The "Positive" terminal is actually a "terminal lacking negatively charged electrons"
I just picture it as water flowing from the positive to save confusion.
Current does not flow. It happens. What flows, is an electro-magnetic wave. It has beginning, but has no end. The beginning of the wave is called Front, an archaic English word for front is Bourn, according to the dictionary, "the line or plane indicating the limit or extent of something"
So, the edge of electro-magnetic flow is Wavebourn. Before Wavebourn it was Nothing.
So, the edge of electro-magnetic flow is Wavebourn. Before Wavebourn it was Nothing.
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Conventional Current vs. Electron Flow#
You know if you get to hung up on this your going to get nowhere..
You have to think conventional or your going to get in a real mess.
Yes you can chew this over as much as you like but the bottom line is you need to be able to read the drawing. You will not do this with the way you are thinking. Circuit discussion and physics are OK in the correct place.
If I was to do what you are doing during a fault location I would be their all day and get nowhere. Also other engineers would have no idea what I was trying to do.
And before you ask switch contacts are normaly shown in the non operated state..IE relays are not energised.
Regards
M. Gregg
Conventional Current vs. Electron Flow#
You know if you get to hung up on this your going to get nowhere..
You have to think conventional or your going to get in a real mess.
Yes you can chew this over as much as you like but the bottom line is you need to be able to read the drawing. You will not do this with the way you are thinking. Circuit discussion and physics are OK in the correct place.
If I was to do what you are doing during a fault location I would be their all day and get nowhere. Also other engineers would have no idea what I was trying to do.
And before you ask switch contacts are normaly shown in the non operated state..IE relays are not energised.
Regards
M. Gregg
When trying to understand a device, whether active or passive, it can help to think about conventional or electron flow (whichever is most appropriate for that device).
When trying to understand a circuit it is best to think in terms of signal sources and sinks, for both AC and DC signals (including PSUs). If you try to analyse a circuit in terms of either electron or conventional current you will be confused if you later see the same circuit 'upside down' - literally in the case of transistors, which have two polarities available.
When trying to understand a circuit it is best to think in terms of signal sources and sinks, for both AC and DC signals (including PSUs). If you try to analyse a circuit in terms of either electron or conventional current you will be confused if you later see the same circuit 'upside down' - literally in the case of transistors, which have two polarities available.
All quite true.
Because it doesn't really matter. A Coulomb's worth of electrons (negative charge) moving in one direction is equivalent to a Coulomb's worth of positive charge moving in the opposite direction. The only time it's actually worth it to make a distinction is when considering the physics of solid state devices, or Hall Effect, and unless you're involved in actually designing such devices, it's seldom relevant.
With VTs, you have just the one device: N-Channel, always. When designing for solid state, all that's required is to know the arrows point from P-type layers to N-type layers, and that positive (or less negative) polarities connected to P-layers means forward bias, and the same polarity of connections to N-layers means reverse bias.
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