[Physics] Why is the current in an electric circuit constant

coulombs-lawelectric-circuitselectricity

Considering electrostatics, suppose we have two charges of equal value and opposite sign and we put electrons along the road between them: We know that the electrical force or field is different from point to point between them because of distance according to Coulomb's law and since the force is different then every electron has a different speed.

Similarly, in an electrical circuit we have a battery in which positive charges accumulate at the positive terminal and negative charges accumulate at the negative terminal. Suppose we have a wire across which has regular matter distribution and regular cross section:

The force applied to every electron must be different because the distance is different. Then, the velocity of every electron is different – then, the current is different from point to point because current definition is that number of electrons that cross through a point per second and the point that has the most force applied has most current and least force has the least current .

Doesn't that contradict the fact that electrical current is constant at all points of a circuit? How can we explain the fields and currents in circuits mathematically, and not by assumptions?

In university books and references of field theory, they always suppose that the electrical field in the wire I described is constant and they start in their calculations with

$$ \vec E=\sigma \vec J$$

where $\sigma$ is selective conductivity and $\vec J$ is the current density. And that's it – without any proof or explanation. They didn't begin with Coulomb's law which is the most important and basic law in electricity .

I will be very thankful if someone can explain this matter in detail and give the proof of the constancy of the current starting from Coulomb's law.

Best Answer

Suppose we have in static electricity two charges negative and positive equal in absolute value and we put electrons along the road between them ,we know that the electrical force or field is different from point to point between them because of distance according to columb law and since the force is different then every electron have different speed

If there were no charges on this road (I will call it a wire), then you would be correct. But you have already said that there are electrons there. Each of them also contributes to the electric field present, so you cannot say that it is simply based on distance from the external charges (or the battery).

In a steady state, the electrons will move in such a way that the field inside the wire is zero. This does not depend on distance from the battery. You cannot use Coulomb's law unless you know where the charges are located, but that becomes difficult when they are all moving around.