Why current does not obey vector law of addition?

Why current does not obey vector law of addition?

To be precise, current is not a vector quantity. Although current has a specific direction and magnitude, it does not obey the law of vector addition.

Is current follow vector law of addition?

Note: Current is a vector because it has a magnitude and a direction. But the thing is a vector always obeys the law of addition of vectors. Since current doesn’t obey it and it follows algebraic addition, currents are scalar.

Why electric current is not considered as vector quantity though it can be expressed as in the form direction and magnitude both?

Current isn’t a vector quantity even if it has both magnitude and direction. This is because according to the defination of vector, “Any measurable quantity that has both magnitude and direction and can be added by triangle law of vector addition is called a vector”.

Why current density is a vector but current is a scalar?

The current is a scalar quantity. Current density is a vector quantity because it’s a product of charge density and velocity, here charge density is a scalar quantity and velocity is a vector quantity, which makes current density also a vector quantity.

Why is electric current not a vector quantity?

Current is not a vector quantity although it have both direction and magnitude. The reason behind is it doesn’t obey the laws of vector algebra! And for a quantity to be a conductor it have to obey two conditions.

Is electric current a base quantity?

Electric current (I) was chosen by SI to be a base quantity – a fundamental physical quantity. A base quantity – though is not defined in terms of other quantities – can however be expressed in terms of other quantities.

Is current a vector or scalar quantity?

Electric current is a scalar quantity. Any physical quantity is termed as a vector quantity when the quantity has magnitude and direction.

Which of the following is a vector quantity?

Vector Quantity: A physical quantity is said to be a vector quantity when it has both magnitude and direction. The scalar quantities are distance, mass, time, volume, density, speed, temperature, and energy, The vector quantities are weight, velocity, acceleration, and force.

Why current is a scalar quantity Quora?

Scalar quantity are those quantities which have only magnitude not any direction and they can be added algebrically. While vector quantities have both magnitude and direction and they must be added vectorically. Since, current has direction but it is not added vectorically. So, it is a scalar quantity.

Is current density a vector quantity?

The ratio of current to area for a given surface is known as the current density. Despite being the ratio of two scalar quantities, current density is a vector.

Why current is scalar quantity explain?

Why electric current is a scalar quantity? In the case of electric current, when two currents meet at a junction, the resultant current of these will be an algebraic sum and not the vector sum. Therefore, an electric current is a scalar quantity although it possesses magnitude and direction.

What are the laws of vector addition?

Triangle law of vector addition states that when two vectors are represented as two sides of the triangle with the order of magnitude and direction, then the third side of the triangle represents the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector.

Is electric current a vector or scalar quantity?

Electric current has both direction and magnitude. However, it does not follow vector law of addition. Hence, it is a scalar quantity. Was this answer helpful?

What are the factors that determine whether a quantity is vector?

But there are other factors that determine the quantity as vector or scalar quantity. If the physical quantity obeys the laws of vector addition such as triangle law of vector addition and parallelogram law of vector addition, then the quantity is said to be a vector quantity.

What is parallelogram law of vector addition?

Parallelogram law of vector addition: Parallelogram law of vector addition states that If two vectors act along two adjacent sides of a parallelogram (with magnitude equal to the length of the sides) both pointing away from the common vertex, the resultant is represented by the diagonal of the parallelogram passing through the same common vertex.

How do you find the magnitude difference between two vectors?

If two vectors have the same direction, the sum of their magnitudes in the same direction is equal to the sum of their directions. If the two vectors are in opposite directions, the resultant of the vectors is the magnitude difference between the two vectors and is in the direction of the larger vector.