a flow of charge can be caused by ions moving in a
Electric current An electric current is a flow of electric charge.[1]:2 In electric circuits this charge is often carried by moving electrons in a wire. It can also be carried by ions in an electrolyte, or by both ions and electrons such as in an ionised gas (plasma).[2]
Electric charge Electric charge is a conserved property; the net charge of an isolated system, the amount of positive charge minus the amount of negative charge, cannot change. Electric charge is carried by subatomic particles. In ordinary matter, negative charge is carried by electrons, and positive charge is carried by the protons in the nuclei of atoms. If there are more electrons than protons in a piece of matter, it will have a negative charge, if there are less it will have a positive charge, and if there are equal numbers it will be neutral. Charge is quantized; it comes in integer multiples of individual small units called the elementary charge, e, about 6981160200000000000♠1.602×10−19 coulombs, which is the smallest charge which can exist free (particles called quarks have smaller charges, multiples of 1/3e but they are only found in combination). The proton has a charge of +e, and the electron has a charge of −e.