definition of electric current

Anelectric currentis a flow ofelectric charge. In electric circuits this charge is often carried by movingelectronsin awire. It can also be carried byionsin anelectrolyte, or by both ions and electrons such as in aplasma.

TheSIunit for measuring an electric current is theampere, which is the flow of electric charges through a surface at the rate of onecoulombper second. Electric current can be measured using anammeter.

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Rinkoo Gupta

AskIITians Faculty

If the two requirements of an electric circuit are met, then charge will flow through the external circuit. It is said that there is a current - a flow of charge. Using the word current in this context is to simply use it to say that something is happening in the wires - charge is moving. Yet current is a physical quantity that can be measured and expressed numerically. As a physical quantity, current is the rate at which charge flows past a point on a circuit.