Patterns of Electron Movement

There are massive numbers of electrons that move through any system under consideration. It is fair to say that electrons move as a group in a pattern or they move perfectly randomly. A group or a pattern of electrons moves in a predictable way through an electric or electronic circuit. Random movements of electrons around the nuclei of atoms represents heat.

The root mean squared speed of an electron moving randomly is measured as a fraction of the speed of light. Electrons are often used to exchange heat between various parts of a solid, liquid or gas. My BBQ outside is hot but there is no net movements of ions or electrons in the BBQ itself yet the electrons must be moving at a rate of speed that is hard to measure using modern instruments.

Contrast static electrical phenomenon with the movement of electrons in a group. It has been found that the only way to do this is in a circuit. When a large group of electrons move in the same manner they have to find a way towards charge balance. No part of a circuit can escape charge balance. So again, we want to understand how statistically and in large groups how electrons behave.

Start, if you will, with the various types of impedance that have been identified. These impedance take the form of linear differential equations with respect to charge. Do the various impedance; inductive, resistive and capacitive, have any bearing on the statistical movement of electrons in a group? I will submit to you the answer is a resounding yes.

The movement of electrons through any medium with resistance is the subject of any elementary electromagnetic text book. Electrons are accelerated to extreme speeds and then they collide with the lattice and move sideways or backwards.

Inductance is more interesting. Inductance implies inducing a magnetic field. The electron field of an inductive part is a curling vector field - the electron field. This curl interacts with other curling fields or creates other curling fields. This is how magnetic materials attract. Inductive electron fields are turbulent. These fields rotate in a circle. This happens naturally on a transmission line electrons explode from the line and rotate as they pass multiple atoms in the dielectric as a wave does past a stationary object.

How exactly does a capacitor or a transmission line store energy in a capacitave electric field? The form and distribution of electron movement within a capacitor. Electrons will dive into a capacitor but will be quickly back-filled by electrons in the dielectric. As the diving electron moves through the dielectric the back-fill property of the dielectric will continue. Electrons will be diving quickly in one direction and bubbling (back-filling) in the other direction until the kinetic energy of electrons in both directions is equal and the capacitor is fully charged.