Simple question, or is it...

The actual transfer mechanism is a transfer of electrical charge within the wire. This is called elecrical current. The speed is irrelevant, since it can transverse your room in a tiny fraction of a

This is where I get lost. The "charge flow" which is current is very slow it doesn't travel across your room in a tiny fraction of a second, the "energy flow" which is a different thing travels close to the speed of light. 

The speed is not based on how long it takes for an electron to get from one end of the wire to the other. It is the time it takes for the information to make the trip. One analogy is that of a train. The information that the train is moving gets to the last car much more quickly than the last car reaches the position of the engine. Once the couplers are all taut, the information has traveled from the engine to the last car.

jea48

cakids said:

The actual transfer mechanism is a transfer of electrical charge within the wire. This is called electrical current.

My response:
Which creates a magnetic field around the wire, ( part of an electromagnetic wave).

Final product? An electromagnetic wave. Signal energy travels, (near the speed of light in a vacuum) in the space (through the dielectric) between the two wires in the form of an electromagnetic wave.
The signal energy travels in one direction from the source to the load.

>>>>However, if the current is alternating - as it is for virtually all audio cables and power cords and fuses - wouldn’t the electromagnetic wave also be traveling in both directions? 🔛 For speaker cables, current travels to the speaker 🔚 on one wire whilst it travels toward the amplifier 🔜 on the other wire and vice versa. That’s why the electrons reverse direction in each wire during this operation.

Also, if it’s true that current travels inside the conductor does that mean it’s the current that is somehow affected by external vibration, RFI and physical asymmetries of the wire itself (directionality)? 

Finally one wonders why AudioQuest goes out of their way to highly polish the surface of their solid core wire. It that for the benefit of the energy traveling outside the conductor or some other reason? AudioQuest must have a reason, it seems like a lot of trouble for no reason.