1st point: this is not a woodworking discussion

You did not specify if the current was AC or DC. If it's DC the
current would more or less evenly spread throughout the wire. If the current
is AC Maxwell's equation's force the electron's to travel on the outer
surface of the wire, with a quick lowering of current density as you got
closer to the center.
The AC model is fairly certain, the DC model is almost entirely
based on theory.
Your folded wire would still have the electrons travelling on the outer
edges while carrying an AC current.
I see no problems with the answer your friend gave based on the question you
asked.

BS in physics and electrical engineering.

"Tom Watson" wrote in message
...
I had a conversation with a friend of mine today who has a masters in
electrical engineering.

This degree was conferred by the same school that I went to
(Villanova) about a hundred years ago, so I must inherently trust him.

Yet...

The question that I asked him, which I thought to be simple enough,
was - do the electrons travel down the circumference of the wire, or
do they travel through the core of the wire?

He told me that that is an unknown.

This was very surprising to me as I thought that it would be easily
tested.

Could we not create a wire of a core of inert material and coat it
with a conductor and measure the difference between a wire of the pure
element and that of the coated variety?

This seemed to be not within his reckoning.

The reason that it is important, to me, is that, if the electrons only
travel on the circumference, that circumference may be folded into a
smaller section than that described by the original, and wires would
not have to be so thick.

Would y'all please try to help me out of this conundrum?

Is my friend a poseur?





Regards,

Tom Watson

tjwatson1ATcomcastDOTnet (real email)

http://home.comcast.net/~tjwatson1/