Difference between voltage and potential after resistor

[Rucap09]

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I am getting caught up on a conceptual topic in circuits. From what I understand, in an RC circuit with say one emf source and one resistor, once a charge passes through a resistor the potential energy from the voltage drops to 0.

Then in BR it says "Once the charge reaches the anode, it stops moving, so its "potential" to move is zero. All of the voltage from the emf source has been used up. "

If a voltage is required to move charge through a wire and create a current, then why does the charge keep moving after passing through the resistor if that voltage potential is now gone?

I guess I'm confused about what exactly is going to 0 after passing through the resistor and what is 0 once the anode is reached?

 

[Rucap09]

Hopeful bump

 

[el_duderino]

The anode is the terminal at the actual voltage source. There is conductor in between the resistor and the anode. The voltage difference between the cathode and anode is what pushes electrons from one to the other. The charge keeps moving through the conductor because it has to get to the anode (or the cathode, depending on how you look at it).

 

[pilav]

@Rucap09: Hi, if you want to understand what exactly the current and voltage is just imagine the conductor as pipe full of water. And when we tilt the pipe the water flows from one terminal to another and this difference in height of terminal makes the water to flow. So if we compare with conductor this height difference is the voltage difference as one terminal as cathode and another as anode and water is just like electrons.

electronic pcb assembly

 

[Rucap09]

Hi Pilav,

Thanks for the follow-up. I guess my confusion is in understanding what exactly is the quantity that is being used up in the resistor vs. what is used for the current to go from high-to-low potential. At the resistor, SOME quantity goes to 0, but it can't be the electrical potential energy driving the current to a lower voltage because if that was used up then that would imply the charge wouldn't continue to migrate to the cathode/anode. I understand in your example how the water flow can symbolize electrical potential energy, but I don't know what would be analogous to a resister in that case.

I know I can solve problems without actually knowing, but conceptually I'm still not getting what it is that goes to 0 right after exiting the resister and then what goes to 0 once the other terminal has been reached and how those two differ.