Directionality of wire

geoffkait

There is no law saying photons can't travel in copper. In fact it's the physical non symmetry of the copper ITSELF that gives rise to directionality. Hel-loo!

>>>>>Indeed there is. The laws are called Maxwell's equations and were published in the 1860s. They are fully relativistic and form the basis for all electric, optical and radio technologies. In fact they are also used to calculate the skin-effect. As I stated above, any asymmetry in the copper can only affect the electron motion -- not the photons (electromagnetic fields and photons are one and the same).

If somebody is interested in the math of electrical energy flow in cables, this is a good article in Am. J. Phys. (it's possible to read the paper without following all the math):

http://depa.fquim.unam.mx/amyd/archivero/El_flujo_de_energia_de_una_bateria_a_otros_elementos_de_un_... 

sfroyen
geoffkait: There is no law saying photons can’t travel in copper. In fact it’s the physical non symmetry of the copper ITSELF that gives rise to directionality. Hel-loo!

Indeed there is. The laws are called Maxwell’s equations and were published in the 1860s. They are fully relativistic and form the basis for all electric, optical and radio technologies. In fact they are also used to calculate the skin-effect. As I stated above, any asymmetry in the copper can only affect the electron motion -- not the photons (electromagnetic fields and photons are one and the same).

>>>>as I already said the skin effect is simply that higher frequencies travel nearer to the outer surface of the conductor. And those frequencies are very high. Obviously, by inference, the lower the frequency the closer to the center of the conductor it will travel. How does that comport with the electromagnetic wave - the audio signal - traveling outside the conductor as you claim? Hint: it doesn’t.

If somebody is interested in the math of electrical energy flow in cables, this is a good article in Am. J. Phys. (it’s possible to read the paper without following all the math):

http://depa.fquim.unam.mx/amyd/archivero/El_flujo_de_energia_de_una_bateria_a_otros_elementos_de_un_....

That paper does not show that the electromagnetic field of the AUDIO SIGNAL travels outside the wire nor does it show that current travels outside the wire. What it shows is that *components* of the electromagnetic field can travel on the surface of the wire. We already know that a magnetic field induced by current traveling through wire and extends beyond the wire according to the right hand rule. (This is why it’s important to address the large magnetic fields produced by large transformers in audio systems with low frequency high permeability alloy.) The paper involves a battery connected to a wire so I’m not sure this paper even applies to an audio system. The paper also states there is energy INSIDE the wire and describes the mathematics of the electric field and magnetic field INSIDE the wire. See top of page 1.

Furthermore, take the case of the humble fuse in the amp where the power cord enters the amp. The fuse wire is designed to melt at a given temperature based on excessive current. That melting is produced by thermal energy of the current, no? The current must be traveling inside the wire per se, if the current energy were traveling outside the wire it would be dissipated into the surrounding air and structure of the fuse and beyond. So the whole idea of "energy" traveling outside the wire is pretty preposterous. Obviously there can be some components such as induced magnetic field outside the wire per se. Everybody knows that.