Electric field and electric potential question

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1

Hi,

I have been reading over the (awesome !!) learning information and am a bit confused about which direction charge is propelled. I have always thought of it as electron flow, negatively charged electrons flowing from neg to pos, but after reading the info on Electric Fields (https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/wh … lectricity) I’ve come unstuck on a point…

It says these two points throughout the article. The 2nd point is bringing me undone:

  1. “electricity usually involves the flow of electrons–negative charges–which flow against electric fields.”

To me this makes sense

  1. “The charges are propelled by an electric field. We need a source of electric potential (voltage), which pushes electrons from a point of low potential energy to higher potential energy.”

To me, I thought that the charges were propelled by voltage pushing charge (current) along in the opposite direction of the electric field??

I am hoping someone can help me understand it better please? Thanks !

2

Fields and charges can both be positive or negative so everything is relative to your initial conditions. In that sense, charge can be pushed or pulled depending on its polarity and that of the field. Most people understand that electrons are negative charge carriers in electronics but there are also positive charge carriers called “holes” which are nothing more than the absence of electrons. Both electrons and holes are responsible for current flow in circuits. Remember that the direction of an electric field is said to be the direction of the force it would exert on a positive charge (hole). You are also getting into the nomenclature differences of conventional vs. electron flow. They both work out to be equivalent but you have to keep track of signs as you work through the math.

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-Bill