Need your expert help to explain this one: electricity doesn't flow in wires?!?! Oh, let's hear your ideas before you check the explanation on EEVBlog.
Hopefully this might explain a little Electricity is a generic term that too many people use. But electricity encompasses voltage, current, and frequency All three values affect magnetism Current flows through the wire. Voltage does to some extent depending on the frequency and the resistance of the conductor. Rf energy travels in the skin of a conductor and the depth of the skin is highly dependant on the conductor resistivity and the frequency of the applied voltage. (The higher the frequency the shallower the skin will be) Remember rf principle The higher the frequency the shorter the distance it travels. A prime example of this, A 5 watt 2 meter may transmit a few miles and farther providing its line of sight, but a 5 watt 40 meter can travel a few hundred miles depending on atmospheric conditions ( higher frequencies tend to be absorbed and don't bounce well) Transmitter antennas ( WIRE)resistivity plays a factor in how it generates an energy wave but it’s a tricky balance between poor conductivity, and too much conductivity, hence the velocity factor. A super conductor such as mercury , (even if you could make a solid wire from it). Has a velocity that far exceeds the more commonly used copper and aluminum. Rf applied to mercury would not have sufficient time to generate magnetic flux of a radio wave.
A right-hand coordinate system, right hand rule, is used for all Electromagnetics. Rectangular, cylindrical, spherical, or any coordinate system you dream up. The cross product of vectors A and B, A x B, B x A are not equal. As they would be in Algebra. Say on the X axis, numbers can be reckoned positive or negative, and still obey the right hand rule. K5LYT
Well, from the perspective of particle physics and quantum mechanics, antennas work because of the relationship between photons and accelerating charged particles (electrons, in our context). Consult Richard Feynman and his work on quantum electrodynamics. Not for the faint of heart. The Veratasium video is basically correct. Energy is in the fields. He has posted a clarifying video .
THIS is an example of an excellent instructional video that focuses on the subject material -not on the presenters. It treats it's viewers as adults and it's a video that every wannabee presenter can learn from:
