2. Charged particles, most often electrons, moving through a conductor or transmitter; such as, copper and aluminum.
3. A flow of charged particles; such as, electrons or protons, accompanied by the field which they generate.
4. Movement of electric charge carriers.
In a wire, electric current is a flow of electrons that have been dislodged from atoms and is a measure of the quantity of electrical charge passing any point of the wire per unit of time.
2. A device which is used to measure the magnitude of an electric current of several amperes or more.
An ammeter is usually combined with a voltmeter and an ohmmeter in a multipurpose tool.
The electrons in some atoms; such as, copper and aluminum, are free to move and to jump from one atom to another and such materials are known as conductors.
Other materials; such as, wood, do not contain as many moving electrons, and so they are called insulators and when a material is neither completely a conductor nor an insulator, it is called a semiconductor.
When an electric current moves continuously in one direction, it is called a direct current and when the current fluctuates rapidly back and forth, it is called an alternating current.
Alternating current is used in almost all worldwide household wiring today while direct current is commonly seen in battery-operated devices.