Explaining the Convention of Current Direction in Electrical Circuits

Why is the current flow shown to be flowing from the negative area towards the positive area?

The flow of current is actually from the positive terminal of a battery or power source to the negative terminal. However, conventionally, we depict the current flow as flowing from the positive terminal (higher potential) towards the negative terminal (lower potential). This convention was established by early scientists who did not have a complete understanding of the behavior of electric current. They observed that when a circuit is connected to a battery, a flow of charge occurs, and they described this flow in a way that reflected their understanding at the time.

Later, with the discovery of the electron as the actual charge carrier, it was determined that electrons flow in the opposite direction of the current convention. Electrons, being negatively charged, move from the negative terminal towards the positive terminal of a battery. This flow, known as electron current, is opposite to the direction of conventional current flow.

However, despite the scientific understanding of electron flow, the convention of current flow from positive to negative is still used in most electrical and electronic circuits, as it provides a consistent and easy-to-understand approach for analysis and calculations.

To summarize, the current flow direction represented from negative to positive is a convention established before the discovery of the electron as the charge carrier. Electrons, in reality, flow from the negative terminal towards the positive terminal, but the conventional current flow notation is still followed for consistency and ease of analysis.

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