I'm having a hard time understanding the difference between drift velocity of electrons and the propagation velocity of the field or signal through a conductor.
Electrical current is the flow of charge per unit time past a given reference point, but when you study the actual drift velocity of the electrons in a given conductor, it is on the magnitude of millimeters per second. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the actual electrons drift so slowly, however propagation of the signal is on the order of 70% of the speed of light. Intuitively, it would make sense to think that the electrons are whizzing around the conductors at the same speed as the propagation of the signal.
Can anyone provide an intuitive way to think about this?
Electrical current is the flow of charge per unit time past a given reference point, but when you study the actual drift velocity of the electrons in a given conductor, it is on the magnitude of millimeters per second. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the actual electrons drift so slowly, however propagation of the signal is on the order of 70% of the speed of light. Intuitively, it would make sense to think that the electrons are whizzing around the conductors at the same speed as the propagation of the signal.
Can anyone provide an intuitive way to think about this?