Charge Accumulation Time
Interactive Simulation
This simulation shows how long it takes to transfer 1 Coulomb of charge at a rate of 10⁹ electrons per second.
Body A
Body B
Time required: 198 years
Calculation
Charge per electron: e = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C
Charge transferred per second:
1.6 × 10⁻¹⁰ C/s = (10⁹ electrons/s) × (1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C/electron)
Time for 1 Coulomb:
6.25 × 10⁹ s = 1 C ÷ (1.6 × 10⁻¹⁰ C/s)
Converted to years:
198 years = (6.25 × 10⁹ s) ÷ (31,536,000 s/year)
Explanation
The example demonstrates how much time is required to accumulate 1 Coulomb of charge when electrons are transferred at a constant rate.
Key Concepts:
Elementary Charge: e = 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁹ C (charge of one electron)
Charge Transfer Rate: Total charge = number of electrons × elementary charge
Time Calculation: Time = Total desired charge ÷ Charge transfer rate
Practical Implications:
- 1 Coulomb is a very large quantity of charge in everyday terms
- At 10⁹ electrons/second, it takes about 200 years to accumulate 1C
- This explains why we often deal with microcoulombs (μC) or nanocoulombs (nC) in practical circuits
The example also mentions that a 1 cm³ piece of copper contains about 2.5 × 10²⁴ electrons, showing the vast number of charge carriers in ordinary matter.
