Final answer:
Current in a wire is influenced by resistance, the applied electric field, and electron collisions. Ohm's Law states that current is proportional to voltage. Electric current flow also generates a magnetic field.
Step-by-step explanation:
When current flows through a wire, several influences are present such as the resistance the wire offers to the flow of charge, the electric field applied by the voltage source, and the collisions between free charges and atoms within the wire. According to Ohm's Law, discovered by German physicist Georg Simon Ohm, resistance is the measure of how much a material opposes the flow of electric current. This law also states that the current (I) flowing through a conductor is directly proportional to the voltage (V) across it, which means increased voltage leads to increased current, assuming resistance remains constant.
The motion of free electrons is not at a steady speed due to their collisions with atoms and other electrons. However, when an electric field is applied, these electrons acquire an overall drift velocity in a direction against the electric field. Furthermore, the passage of current through a wire generates a magnetic field as described by Ampère's law. These combined effects, including resistance and electric fields, govern the characteristics of electrical currents in conductors.