Friday, 4 December 2015

Why is electron flow taught in some contexts?



The standard as I learned it is that the flow of current is from positive voltage to negative voltage. The direction of current flow is opposite the direction of electron flow. This is what I learned in school, the assumption made by almost every engineer I've worked with, and the standard in every simulator I've ever seen.


I've encountered two exceptions. One is this textbook, which a colleague has on his shelf from his associates degree training. The other is a pair of former navy personnel I've worked with, both of whom were taught electron flow in the navy and had to unlearn it when they left.


I understand that both are valid mathematical models of the same phenomenon. What I don't understand is why anyone would purposefully and knowingly train people in a fashion contrary to a near-universal standard. (It took a lot of work to make that textbook!) Is the standard as I understand it not as standard as I think it is? Is there some analytical advantage to the electron flow model that I'm not seeing, perhaps in realms of EE I don't visit often?


Why is anyone, anywhere, ever taught that current flows from negative voltage to positive voltage?




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