I am not going to read this whole thing as I am late to the party so please forgive me if I repeat something already said
Almarg, you are usually spot one but missed one here.
Earlier someone gave a flawed analogy about measurements. Stating that since capacitors of the same value and precision sounded different there must be more to this than just measurements. The flaw in that argument is that caps have more parameters than just value and precision. Leakage current, effective series resistance, some amount of inductance causing them to be resonant at some frequency, temperature coefficient, type of dielectric, etc. I propose that if all parameters were exactly the same then they would sound the same which makes the original supposition invalid.
The misconception that electrons are flowing down the wire from source to load is very firmly implanted in many minds. They were taught using the very flawed analogy that electrons flowing through a wire is like water flowing through a hose . "Mr. Smith taught me that in 8th grade so it must be correct.”
It is very difficult if not impossible for many (most?) to conceptualize energy transfer but very easy to think of electrons flowing like water so they are stuck in a world where cables can’t be directional because electrons flow one way and then the other in AC. I struggled with that when the concept was introduced to me in Freshmen physics. I couldn’t understand how there could be a power plant a thousand miles away and electrons were making trips back and forth 60 times a second. Of course they weren’t. Energy was flowing from the power plant to my house in the form of an EM wave, not electrons.
The flowing electron myth can be easily debunked if you can wrap your head around an electromagnetic wave. Light, what we call microwaves, radio waves, etc. are all the same thing just at different frequencies. Audio signals are the same thing at very low frequencies. If the frequency is high enough these waves travel easily through air or a vacuum with no associated movement of electrons. At audio frequencies they will too just not very efficiently so it is easier to guide them where we want them to go since they will follow a wire. The resulting vibration of electrons with AC or the very slow migration of electrons with DC is an effect caused by the wave, and that is what trips many up. They think the movement of electrons is the cause when it is the effect, the movement of energy is the cause. Again, if the energy will travel in the absence of electrons (vacuum) then electrons are not the cause. While I can imagine an AC wave like light traveling I admit I do have trouble conceptualizing how DC energy "flows" so I just accept that it does.
So can wires be directional? If they are not symmetrical it is easy to see why they would be. Ralph gave the example of asymmetry in a cable where the ground is connected on one end only. Cables with termination networks like MIT would surely be directional. If the way the wire is drawn results in an asymmetrical crystal structure I suppose there could be an effect. Now if a cable is perfectly symmetrical it is hard to see how it could be but since the energy always flows from source to load maybe this somehow conditions the wire so maybe, would explain the burn in effect that many adhere to. At the end of the day I am in the camp of just try it. If you hear it then it is real.
Almarg, you are usually spot one but missed one here.
The electromagnetic wave is the audio signal. There is no electromagnetic wave in the power cord or in the fuse where the power cord enters the amp.The energy in the incoming power is indeed an electromagnetic wave like all AC signals. How can a 60 Hz "audio" signal be EM and a 60 Hz line signal not be? Plug your speaker into the wall outlet and you will hear a very loud 60 Hz for a brief period of time.
Earlier someone gave a flawed analogy about measurements. Stating that since capacitors of the same value and precision sounded different there must be more to this than just measurements. The flaw in that argument is that caps have more parameters than just value and precision. Leakage current, effective series resistance, some amount of inductance causing them to be resonant at some frequency, temperature coefficient, type of dielectric, etc. I propose that if all parameters were exactly the same then they would sound the same which makes the original supposition invalid.
The misconception that electrons are flowing down the wire from source to load is very firmly implanted in many minds. They were taught using the very flawed analogy that electrons flowing through a wire is like water flowing through a hose . "Mr. Smith taught me that in 8th grade so it must be correct.”
It is very difficult if not impossible for many (most?) to conceptualize energy transfer but very easy to think of electrons flowing like water so they are stuck in a world where cables can’t be directional because electrons flow one way and then the other in AC. I struggled with that when the concept was introduced to me in Freshmen physics. I couldn’t understand how there could be a power plant a thousand miles away and electrons were making trips back and forth 60 times a second. Of course they weren’t. Energy was flowing from the power plant to my house in the form of an EM wave, not electrons.
The flowing electron myth can be easily debunked if you can wrap your head around an electromagnetic wave. Light, what we call microwaves, radio waves, etc. are all the same thing just at different frequencies. Audio signals are the same thing at very low frequencies. If the frequency is high enough these waves travel easily through air or a vacuum with no associated movement of electrons. At audio frequencies they will too just not very efficiently so it is easier to guide them where we want them to go since they will follow a wire. The resulting vibration of electrons with AC or the very slow migration of electrons with DC is an effect caused by the wave, and that is what trips many up. They think the movement of electrons is the cause when it is the effect, the movement of energy is the cause. Again, if the energy will travel in the absence of electrons (vacuum) then electrons are not the cause. While I can imagine an AC wave like light traveling I admit I do have trouble conceptualizing how DC energy "flows" so I just accept that it does.
So can wires be directional? If they are not symmetrical it is easy to see why they would be. Ralph gave the example of asymmetry in a cable where the ground is connected on one end only. Cables with termination networks like MIT would surely be directional. If the way the wire is drawn results in an asymmetrical crystal structure I suppose there could be an effect. Now if a cable is perfectly symmetrical it is hard to see how it could be but since the energy always flows from source to load maybe this somehow conditions the wire so maybe, would explain the burn in effect that many adhere to. At the end of the day I am in the camp of just try it. If you hear it then it is real.
