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Electrical wires do not transfer energy

We are taught that energy is transferred around an electric circuit, but is this model wrong? Peter Main provides a better explanation — one in which energy is not transferred through wires, but through an electromagnetic field set up around them

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The terms in bold link to topics in the AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC and CCEA A-level specifications, as well as the IB, Pre-U and SQA exam specifications.

Electric current comprises electrons moving along wires at speeds typically in the order of mm s–1, and yet bulbs in a circuit light up instantly when the circuit is turned on. Energy is transferred around a circuit in both directions by an electromagnetic field created by the electrons’ motion.

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The colour charge of quarks

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Clues

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