Billions In The Blink Of An Eye
Electricity and Magnetism
Level
2
A 60-Watt light bulb is connected to a 120 V outlet. How long in seconds does it take for 1 billion (\(10^{9}\)) electrons to pass through the light bulb?
Details and assumptions
- The charge of the electron is \(e=1.6\times 10^{-19}~\mbox{C}\).
- You may consider the voltage as a constant voltage source. The time you will find is short enough that the fact that wall outlets generally deliver alternating voltages can be ignored.
by
David Mattingly