Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="qtipextra" data-source="post: 2351226" data-attributes="member: 555270">Thats really hard to explain, but your first thought (a) would be correct. Sort of.Explanation:When you have an extension cord plugged in, with nothing plugged into it, then there becomes potential difference between the wires (voltage) at the end of the conductor (the wire). This means that electrons want to go from the negative to positive (and of course, with AC, positve and negative switches 60 times per second). With nothing plugged in, they cannot do that, so you don&#039;t have any current.When you have something plugged in at the end of the extension cord (whether it be a wire connecting the 2 wires [short] or an actual component) it will pull current from the source, (For explanation purposes only, this would the transformer [and in reality it is your power company, but it has more thrown into the equation with transformers]). So it doesn&#039;t really go anywhere. When you unplug something, the electrons are just &quot;sitting&quot; there.To get electricity, you move electrons. That&#039;s what the power company that supplies your power does. When you hook up a conductor to the line of moving electrons, you will add to their line of where the electrons go. If you suddenly dissconnect that line, then they are just sitting there until you hook it back into the line of moving electrons.Hope that explains it a little bit</blockquote>

[QUOTE="qtipextra, post: 2351226, member: 555270"] Thats really hard to explain, but your first thought (a) would be correct. Sort of. Explanation: When you have an extension cord plugged in, with nothing plugged into it, then there becomes potential difference between the wires (voltage) at the end of the conductor (the wire). This means that electrons want to go from the negative to positive (and of course, with AC, positve and negative switches 60 times per second). With nothing plugged in, they cannot do that, so you don't have any current. When you have something plugged in at the end of the extension cord (whether it be a wire connecting the 2 wires [short] or an actual component) it will pull current from the source, (For explanation purposes only, this would the transformer [and in reality it is your power company, but it has more thrown into the equation with transformers]). So it doesn't really go anywhere. When you unplug something, the electrons are just "sitting" there. To get electricity, you move electrons. That's what the power company that supplies your power does. When you hook up a conductor to the line of moving electrons, you will add to their line of where the electrons go. If you suddenly dissconnect that line, then they are just sitting there until you hook it back into the line of moving electrons. Hope that explains it a little bit [/QUOTE]

Verification