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Electricity

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8 Jul 2009 15:07:50 IST

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since curren has both magnitude and direction but it is not referred as a vector quantity.why ?

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since curren has both magnitude and direction but it is not referred as a vector quantity.why ?

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Akshay

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8 Jul 2009 15:16:01 IST

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Electric current is not a vector because it doesn't have an intrinsic direction in space.

For instance,

In a junction in a circuit, the current splits into branches. Now if the same branches are say, bent into spiral shapes, the current still flows along the length of the conductor and hence the direction has changed accordingly.

νιѕнαℓ

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9 Jul 2009 15:12:33 IST

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It is not regarded as a vector because it cannot be added or subtracted using the Vector Laws

U V

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9 Jul 2009 15:13:16 IST

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It does not follow the rules of vectors...

ramyani chakrabarty

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10 Jul 2009 01:03:28 IST

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simple.

current does not follow triangle law of addition.

It follows law like 3 A + 6 A =9 Amp

NugoRama

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10 Jul 2009 01:04:45 IST

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ramyani chakrabarty

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10 Jul 2009 01:05:22 IST

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The exact defn of a vector is : a quantity dat has both mag & dirn and follows triangle law of addition.

see hcv.

Sagar Saxena

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10 Jul 2009 11:48:20 IST

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current is atensor quantity

tensore are those quantitites that have directional sense along with their magnitude, but do not obey any laws of vector algebra...exa

current, pressure alll come into the category of tensors

Sushobhan Sen

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16 Jul 2009 02:02:01 IST

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A vector has magnitude and direction and also obeys triangle law of addition. This is the correct definition. So, as current does not follow the Triangle Law, it is not a vector. Suppose a wire carrying 1A of current and another carrying 2A are placed inclined 60 deg. to each other and intersect. If they were vectors, their resultant current would be sq.rt(1²+2²+2.1.2cos60). But the answer is simply 1+2 = 3A, which is against the Triangle Law. So, current is not a vector. Rather, it is a tensor.

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