Question

Define drift speed? What is the drift speed of electron?

Answer 1

Dear student,

Drift velocity is an average velocity that a charged particle moves with under the influence of some force, such as an electron attains in the presence of electric field.

In general the electrons move randomly in the conductor . Thus it is assumed that the average velocity of electrons moving in a conductor is zero.

But in an electric field,the electron drifts in the opposite direction of the electric field applied while moving the electrons undergo frequent collisions with the ions of the material. Hence, the direction of the electrons undergoes a random change, the net effect is that with random motion of the electrons, there is also a very slow net motion or drifting of the electrons in the direction of force on the them, thus the word drift is used. This drift or flow with a constant velocity (in a direction opposite to electric field) is called the drift velocity of electrons