No, electrons don’t just “flow” from one end of the line to the other.
Have you ever wondered how electricity is received from the power plant to your home? The electricity in the network comes in the form of alternating current, which means that the electrons in the power lines simply move back and forth. They never really go anywhere.
This raises the question: if the charges do not come from the power plant to your home, how does the electricity actually reach you? This is the YouTuber dilemma Veritasium trying to look into this very educational video.
The former teacher uses a flexible plastic tube with a chain inside to illustrate how the power lines work. It may seem unconventional and exaggerated, but the example actually works quite well, showing how electrons move back and forth when transmitting energy.
But wait, it’s not that easy! Veritasium in fact, he goes on to say that his example is wrong. He does this to clearly illustrate one of the biggest misconceptions about electricity.
So what is this all too common misconception? What does it say about electricity, power plants and power lines? How power plants actually transmit electricity and how they do it our electronics get it? This video answers all these questions and more, elegantly distinguishing truth from myth once and for all.