wiz-icon
MyQuestionIcon
MyQuestionIcon
1
You visited us 1 times! Enjoying our articles? Unlock Full Access!
Question

The force on electrons due to the electric field set up inside a conductor, doesn’t accelerate them on an average because

A
Newton’s second law is not valid inside a conductor
No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today!
B
Some mysterious force pulls the electrons in the other direction
No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today!
C
The electrons keep hitting the fixed positive ions and lose their momentum
Right on! Give the BNAT exam to get a 100% scholarship for BYJUS courses
D
Electrical force can never accelerate a charge
No worries! We‘ve got your back. Try BYJU‘S free classes today!
Open in App
Solution

The correct option is C The electrons keep hitting the fixed positive ions and lose their momentum
The electrons do accelerate under the electric field. But the more they accelerate, the more they collide with positive ions in the metal lattice and lose whatever momentum they gained. In short, if you average out the velocities of all these electrons, they seem to have an average velocity against the direction of the field(since they are negatively charged) which is proportional to the Field applied and this velocity is called the drift velocity.
You can imagine it to be similar to a body falling down through a medium. As it falls faster, the medium’s resistance (what we call drag) increases and at some point they cancel out and the body falls with constant velocity(what we call terminal velocity). This medium resistance and electrical resistance are very similar in many ways.

flag
Suggest Corrections
thumbs-up
2
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
similar_icon
Related Videos
thumbnail
lock
Drift Velocity
PHYSICS
Watch in App
Join BYJU'S Learning Program
CrossIcon