Calculate the average velocity of charge carriers in a conductor.
Electrical Parameters
A
m⁻³
m²
Calculation Results
Enter current and area
Quick Reference
v_dDrift Velocity
IElectric Current
nCarrier Density (number/m³)
ACross-sectional Area
qCharge of carrier (1.6e-19 C)
Overview
Drift velocity is the average velocity attained by charged particles (such as electrons) in a material due to an electric field. Despite electricity traveling nearly at the speed of light, the actual electrons move surprisingly slowly.
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Pro Tips
For a typical copper wire, the drift velocity is often less than a millimeter per second.
The density (n) for copper is approximately 8.5 x 10²⁸ free electrons per cubic meter.
Increasing the current or decreasing the wire thickness increases the drift velocity.
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Fun Facts
"Even though electrons move slowly, light turns on instantly because the electric field (and the 'push' on all electrons) propagates at nearly the speed of light."
"Drift velocity is much lower than the 'thermal velocity' of electrons, which are constantly zig-zagging at high speeds even with no current."
