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Electron current and conventional current flow

Most of the time when people talk about current you hear that it flows from positive to negative, yet here you read that it is the electrons moving from negative to positive is what creates the current in a circuit; which is correct?

The short answer is, both are correct.

In the early days of the study of charges and electricity, it was believed that it was the movement from positive to negative that created the current, in part inspired by the apparent resemblance with water falling from a high place to a lower place; from positive to negative.

Now we know that negatively charged electrons are the actual moving particles in a circuit, so why do we still represent current as flowing from positive to negative? It is more intuitive that way, and there's also a base in the moving of electrons.

When electrons move from one atom to fill a hole in the next, they also leave a hole where they used to be, in effect "moving" the hole in the opposite direction of the electron flow. You can now see that there's actually two flows of charges: moving negative charges in electron flow, and "moving" holes as in conventional current.

In most practical circuits the difference in how current flows is irrelevant, and many of the schematic symbols are more intuitively understood in terms of conventional current flow

Welcome To Electronic Circuits For Beginners!

All circuits included here are recommended to be assembled in printed circuit boards. Printed circuit boards, or PCB's increase the circuit reliability and mechanical stability.

Circuits quick links:

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Simple FM Transmitter

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Led Flasher Circuit

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Quadrocopters for beginners

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Voltage follower circuit

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Beginners Audio Amplifier

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Led chaser circuit

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Tone generator circuit

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H bridge circuit

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Simple power supply

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Beginner Electronics mini course index

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All circuits include parts list and complete How-it-works for beginners and hobbyists to easily understand.