Funway 1

I have the funway 1 dick smith kit(funway 2 as well). Now in these kits the book assumes electricity travels from positive terminal to negative, which I think isn't true. Maybe this is because the book is old, or do we assume it's positive to negative in electronics? Does it matter? Would it harm my knowledge?

p.s. I dont understand the more advanced circuits in the book, am I supposed to understand them?

BTW im 15 yrs old.

some interesting reading here:
http://amasci.com/amateur/elecdir.html

It would be good if we could all understand everything.
Don't focuse too much on theory, it will come with time.
Get hands on practice!

As long as you understand how to use basic electronic components (resistors, caps, diodes, voltage regulators, some chips) that’s all that’s necessary at your level.

So in a circuit with a battery, electrons AND protons flow? I am confused.

Only electrons flow. Electrons have a negative charge and so they flow from negative to positive. We think of a current as flowing from positive to negative because negative electrons flow backwards and 2 negatives = positive. So, current flows from positive to negative even though the electrons flow backwards.

Mike.

It's really VERY confusing, but it makes no difference to anything you do, you really don't need to know about electron flow or conventional current flow, it's more a theoretical concern.

If you're trying to understand a circuit, it's usually easiest if you consider 'flow' goes from top to bottom, don't worry about what it is, or which way round the supply is - just use top to bottom.

"Conventional current" flows from positive to negative.
"Electron flow" is from negative to positive.

Until I realised this (over 40 years ago now!) I was very confused about a few things.

For day to day understanding of circuit operation I think in terms of conventional current, flowing from positive to negative.
However for things like valves and cathode ray tubes, their operation only makes sense when you think in terms of electron flow.

JimB

Electron flow is the path the electrons flow.

Conventional flow is easier to understand if you call it hole flow. Holes are places around positively charged atoms (positive ions) where the electrons are missing. Holes flow from positive to negitive, which makes sense if you consider the cathode of the battery as having excess eletrons and the anode as having electrons missing.