Is the motion of a charge across a junction momentum conserving? Why or why not?

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) The motion of a charge across a junction is generally not momentum-conserving.
When a charge carrier (such as an electron) moves through a conductor,it experiences collisions with the lattice ions,which exert external forces on the charge.
According to Newton's second law,the rate of change of momentum of a system is equal to the net external force acting on it.
Since the lattice ions exert a force on the charge carriers to maintain a steady drift velocity $v_{d} = \frac{eE\tau}{m}$,the momentum of the charge carrier is not conserved because the external force from the lattice is non-zero.
Furthermore,at a junction,the redistribution of charge creates localized electric fields that further alter the momentum of the charge carriers.

Explore More

Similar Questions

$A$ current passes through a wire of nonuniform cross-section. Which of the following quantities are independent of the cross-section?

An electric cell of emf $E$ is connected across a copper wire of diameter $d$ and length $l$. The drift velocity of electrons in the wire is $v_{d}$. If the length of the wire is changed to $2l$, the new drift velocity of electrons in the copper wire will be

Though the electron drift velocity is small and electron charge is very small, a conductor can carry an appreciably large current because

Charge passing through a conductor of cross-section area $A=0.3 \,m^2$ is given by $q=3 t^2+5 t+2$ in coulomb,where $t$ is in second. What is the value of drift velocity at $t=2 \,s$ ? (Given,$n=2 \times 10^{25} / m^3$ )

At room temperature,copper has a free electron density of $8.4 \times 10^{28} \, m^{-3}$. The copper conductor has a cross-section of $10^{-6} \, m^2$ and carries a current of $5.4 \, A$. The electron drift velocity in copper is:

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo