Quote:
"So, then the question is does a single electron in a conductor actually oscillate or it it so fast that it travels the complete length of the conductor and never has a chance to reverse directions."

My understanding, limited as it may be, is that electron flow is more like a domino effect than a flow.
An example would be a group of cue balls in a perfectly straight line. Hit the first ball, and the energy is instantly transmitted through each ball in the line to the very end without any one ball moving significantly.

Quote:
"Dave - I might certainly be wrong, but I don't believe electrons travel at the speed of light. "

The speed of light varies depending on the medium it travels in. The 186,000 miles per second it attains in a vacuum is slowed considerably in say, glass or water.

So the question is, how fast is light in an opaque medium like copper? Zero?

Logic tells us that current flows, so by the process of elimination, it should be somewhere between zero and 186,000 miles per second.

Hope this helps [Linked Image]!

[This message has been edited by WFO (edited 01-17-2006).]