Where does all the electricity go when it reaches the end?

Question

Where does all the electricity go when it reaches the end?

Answer 1

well there are 2 answers to that question:

when you have a battery, there really is no "end."  the circuit is closed and the electricity keeps circulating around the circuit and making whatever ther battery is operating go.  so y doesn't the object run forever you ask? because the chemical energy in the battery is converted to electrical energy to run the object, and some of the electrical energy is converted to heat energy because of resistance.  there is a natural resistance in the wires that run from the battery to the thing it's powering, and the thing it's powering is the main resistor on the circuit.  the battery runs out basically when all of the chemical energy in the battery has been converted to electrical energy and then eventually is lost to heat energy.

in AC current that runs in your walls, the situation is a bit more complicated.  AC stands for "alternating current" it means that the voltage first shoves electrons into the object you're powering and then pulls them back out.  basically this makes an electric current that goes back and forth...really REALLY fast.  U.S. power lines run at about 120 volts, that means that in 1 second, the electricity goes forward 60 times and backward 60 times (alternating of course) for a total of 120 times.  so really there is no "end" to this system either, as the electricity just keeps going back and forth.  however, like in the situation with the battery, some of the electrical energy is converted to heat energy through resistance.  there is the resistance in the wires again (and a lot since it has to go through a lot of wire to get to your house), and each thing that you plug into your wall acts as a resistor.  that's actually how all of the things in your house run-they are resistors because they get in the way of the electricity as they use it for functions, which converts some of it to heat.

the whole process is really quite complicated, i'm a straight A high school graduate with a 33 on the ACT and my dad is a physics teacher (he was actually my teacher) and i'm still a little fuzzy on it, AC current is hard to understand.

that's about the best i can explain it, so i hope this helps

Answer 2

Before you believe the people above electricity doesn't just keep circulating other wise we would have energy forever. Depending on what the "end" is the electricity would be given off in different forms of energy like heat or kinetic energy. That is what happens to the electricity.

Answer 3

It is eather used up or sent back.

Answer 4

The end of what, precisely?

Answer 5

There is no end, but I'm sure you already knew that

Answer 6

It goes into powering the object. It's not recycled or evaporated into the air.

Answer 7

Ground.

Electricity is the energy created by moving electrons as a result of charge. Electrons are apparently not very particular about whatever protons they associate with, while protons typically stay in one place within the molecular lattice of a conductor.

The electrons go to ground, that is they go into the earth and return to a less energetic state within matter. All residential and commercial electrical systems have a connection to the ground. It is often a long copper rod driven into the earth just below your electric meter. Other types of electrical systems, like cars, use a battery where the returning electrons come back to the battery and are converted to a form of chemical energy.

The energy converts to other forms of energy, including heat, potential energy, kinetic energy, chemical energy, etc. When you view my answer to your message you are receiving electrical energy (electrons) that is being converted to heat in your monitor and light. When you move away from this message, a certain quantity of electrons will go to ground.

Its interesting to think about where this energy came from. If you are connected to a public power system, there is a good chance your electricity was generated by a coal-fired power plant. The coal in turn is a store of both solar and geothermal energy. The solar energy fell on the earth from the sun, a nuclear energy source, probably about 300 million years ago, depending on the age of the coal being used. The geothermal energy that helped created the coal is leftover radioactivity from the decay of elements created during the formation of the solar system about 4.54 Billion years ago. So the electrons powering your computer monitor are being pushed by energy that was created millions and billions of years ago. Wish them well as they go to ground.

See:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hba...

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hba...

Answer 8

SOME IS USED BY THE UNIT BEING POWERED. THE REST GOES BACK INTO THE WALL/POWER COMPANY

Answer 9

I guess it just "wears" out and stops. Doesn't really go anywhere, like evaporating into mid air.