Question

Why do electrons and current flow in opposite directions?

Answer 1

The reason electrons and current flow in opposite directions has to do with the way we define "current."

Electron Flow:

1. Electrons are negatively charged particles. In a conductive material, like a wire, they move from areas of negative charge to areas of positive charge. This movement is called electron flow.
   

1. So, if you connect a battery to a wire, the electrons move from the negative terminal (where there is an excess of electrons) to the positive terminal (where there is a shortage of electrons).
   

Conventional Current:

1. In contrast, conventional current is defined as the flow of positive charge. It was established long before we understood that electrons are the particles actually moving.
   

1. When scientists first studied electricity, they assumed current was the flow of positive charges (which they didn't know about electrons at the time). So, conventional current flows in the opposite direction of electron flow—from the positive terminal to the negative terminal.
   

In summary:

1. Electron flow goes from negative to positive (because electrons are negative and move to a region with less negative charge).
   

1. Conventional current is defined as flowing from positive to negative, even though the actual charge carriers (electrons) are moving in the opposite direction.
   

This difference in direction is just a matter of how we chose to define current, but both the electron flow and conventional current represent the same electrical phenomenon.