200k views
1 vote
Find the drift velocity of free electrons in a copper wire of

cross-sectional area 10 mm2, when the wire carries a current of 10.0 A
Assume that each copper atom contributes one electron to the
electron

1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

To find the drift velocity of free electrons in a copper wire carrying a current of 10.0 A and having a cross-sectional area of 10 mm2, we can use the equation I = nqAvd. The number of free electrons per cubic meter can be calculated using the density of copper and the atomic mass of copper. Substituting the known values into the equation will give us the drift velocity.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the drift velocity of free electrons in a copper wire, we can use the equation I = nqAvd. Given that the wire carries a current of 10.0 A and has a cross-sectional area of 10 mm2, we can calculate the drift velocity. Firstly, we need to find the number of free electrons per cubic meter, which can be determined using the density of copper and the atomic mass of copper. Then, we can substitute the values into the equation to find the drift velocity.

Density of copper = 8.80 x 103 kg/m3
Atomic mass of copper = 63.54 g/mol
Avogadro's number = 6.02 x 1023 atoms/mol
Cross-sectional area = 10 mm2 = 0.01 cm2 = 0.0001 m2

Number of free electrons per m3 = (Density of copper * Avogadro's number) / Atomic mass of copper
Drift velocity (vd) = (Current * Number of free electrons per m3 * Charge of electron) / Cross-sectional area

User Mythio
by
7.1k points