Drift Velocity Calculator

Your details

Pick the method that matches your known quantities. The current-density method suits a real wire; the mobility method suits semiconductor problems; the Drude model gives the classical derivation result.
Conventional current flowing through the conductor, in amperes.
A
Cross-sectional area of the conductor perpendicular to current flow. 1 mm2 is a typical household wire.
Free charge carriers per cubic metre. Copper has about 8.5 x 10^28 m^-3; silicon is around 1.5 x 10^16 m^-3.
m-3
Magnitude of charge on each carrier. Electrons carry 1.602 x 10^-19 C (the elementary charge).
C
Drift velocityVery slow (below 0.1 mm/s)
0.0001m/s

Average velocity of charge carriers along the conductor

Drift velocity0.0734mm/s
Current density (J)1,000,000A/m2
0.0734 mm/s
Very slow<0.1Typical metals0.1-1Moderate1-5High5+

Drift velocity: 7.343e-5 m/s

  • The average drift velocity is 7.343e-5 m/s (7.343e-2 mm/s), far slower than the speed of light.
  • With a high carrier density like copper, individual electrons barely move even under a large current.
  • Current density in the conductor is 1.000e+6 A/m2. Exceeding ~10^8 A/m2 risks electromigration damage.
  • Drift velocity is orders of magnitude slower than the random thermal speed of electrons (~10^6 m/s in metals), which is what enables the near-instantaneous propagation of electrical signals.

Next stepTo cross-check this, try the Ohm's law or number density calculators and confirm current density stays within safe limits for your wire material.

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