A silver wire has a cross sectional area A = 2.0 mm². A total of 9.4 × 10¹⁸ electrons pass through the wire in 3.0 s. The conduction electron density in silver is 5.8 × 10²⁸ electrons/m3 and e = 1.60 × 10^-19 C. What is the drift velocity of these electrons?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The drift velocity (v_d) can be calculated using the formula: v_d = I / (n * A * e), where I is the current, n is the electron density, A is the cross-sectional area, and e is the charge of an electron. First, calculate the current: I = (9.4 × 10^18 electrons / 3.0 s) * (1.60 × 10^-19 C/electron) = 5.0133 × 10^-1 A. Then, convert the area from mm^2 to m^2: A = 2.0 mm^2 = 2.0 × 10^-6 m^2. Now, substitute the values into the drift velocity formula: v_d = (5.0133 × 10^-1 A) / (5.8 × 10^28 electrons/m^3 * 2.0 × 10^-6 m^2 * 1.60 × 10^-19 C) = 2.7 × 10^-5 m/s.

A Silver Wire Has a Cross Sectional Area a =