Electrons Drift Slowly but Electric Signals Zip Fast: The Electricity Paradox

When you flip a switch to turn on a light, it seems like the light comes on instantly, which might make you think electricity travels at lightning speed. But in reality, while electrical signals do move nearly as fast as light, the electrons themselves are moving at a much slower pace.
Think of a long water pipe with a valve at one end. When you open the valve, the water starts to flow down the pipe. But the water doesn’t just blast down the pipe all at once. Instead, it moves steadily, creating a wave of pressure that pushes the water along. Even though the water at the far end starts moving almost right away, it’s not the individual water molecules zipping through the pipe quickly; rather, it’s the wave of pressure that's traveling fast. This is a handy way to think about how electricity works.
In a copper wire, the electrons are like the water molecules in the pipe. When you apply a voltage, these electrons start drifting in a specific direction. But their average speed, known as drift velocity, is actually quite slow-much slower than you’d expect. It might seem like it would take forever for an electron to move from one end of the wire to the other.
Even though the electrons are crawling slowly, the electric signal itself-like an electromagnetic wave-travels through the wire at almost the speed of light. This happens because applying a voltage creates an electric field inside the wire. This field moves much faster and gets the electrons moving. It’s this fast-moving field that makes it seem like electricity is zipping through at incredible speeds.
So, while the electrons themselves are moving along slowly, the electric signal that carries information is zooming through at nearly the speed of light. Understanding this difference between the slow drift of electrons and the speedy transmission of electrical signals helps explain how electrical gadgets and communication systems actually work.
Credits for Images and Videos:
Drift velocity of electrons:
By Psinha36 - while creating a multimedia project, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikime...
Plastic Pipe:
By GordonJ86 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikime...
An outdoor drinking water tap at Desa Dasan Geria Village:
By Josh Estey/AusAID, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikime...
Half-open pipe wave.gif:
commons.wikime...
Molecule2.gif:
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A basic electric circuit:
By Created by User:Omegatron using Klunky schematic editor, which the creator considers public domain (possibly with post-editing in the GIMP or Inkscape) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikime...
Electric source and load animation.gif:
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Electromigration (red arrow) is due to the momentum transfer from the electrons moving in a wire:
By Linear77 - Own work, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikime...
Electron flow in a conductor.svg:
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EM-Wave.gif:
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A beam of light is depicted travelling between the Earth and the Moon:
By James O'Donoghue, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikime...
A diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum:
By Inductiveload, NASA - self-made, information by NASABased off of File:EM Spectrum3-new.jpg by NASAThe butterfly icon is from the P icon set, File:P biology.svgThe humans are from the Pioneer plaque, File:Human.svgThe buildings are the Petronas towers and the Empire State Buildings, both from File:Skyscrapercompare.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikime...
A long row of disconnectors in the 380kV part of the Pulverdingen substation:
By Ikar.us - Own work, CC BY 3.0 de, commons.wikime...
Alternating electric current flows through the solenoid:
By Ponor - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikime...
An illustrative example showing bremsstrahlung radiation:By Jacopo Bertolotti - / 1056921689643249666 , CC0, commons.wikime...
An electronic communications system using electronic signals:
By Brews ohare - Own work;... Uses File:EAR.jpg and File:Sexy-Red-Lips Happy-Girl.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikime...
Digital-signal-noise.svg:
By Avelludo - Original: Mcanet Vector: Avelludo, Public Domain, commons.wikime...