Test_down1121

What makes the electric charge to flow? Let us consider the analogy of flow of water. Charges do not flow in a copper wire by themselves, just as water in a perfectly horizontal tube does not flow. If one end of the tube is connected to a tank of water kept at a higher level, such that there is a pressure difference between the two ends of the tube, water flows out of the other end of the tube. For flow of charges in a conducting metallic wire, the gravity, of course, has no role to play; the electrons move only if there is a difference of electric pressure – called the potential difference – along the conductor. This difference of potential may be produced by a battery, consisting of one or more electric cells. The chemical action within a cell generates the potential difference across the terminals of the cell, even when no current is drawn from it. When the cell is connected to a conducting circuit element, the potential difference sets the charges in motion in the conductor and produces an electric current. In order to maintain the current in a given electric circuit, the cell has to expend its chemical energy stored in it