Can current flow with no voltage?

Can current flow with no voltage?

• A. Yes
• B. Sometimes
• C. Only with a conductor
• D. No

Answer: (D)

Electric current is the flow of charge driven by a difference in electrical potential—voltage—across the path it travels. Without a driving voltage, there’s no pushing force, so in a normal resistive circuit the current is zero. There is a brief exception when energy storage elements are involved: an inductor can keep current momentarily after the source is removed, or a capacitor can discharge stored energy, but that isn’t a steady flow with zero voltage—eventually the current dies as the stored energy runs out. In steady real-world conditions, current cannot flow with no voltage.

Electric current is the flow of charge driven by a difference in electrical potential—voltage—across the path it travels. Without a driving voltage, there’s no pushing force, so in a normal resistive circuit the current is zero. There is a brief exception when energy storage elements are involved: an inductor can keep current momentarily after the source is removed, or a capacitor can discharge stored energy, but that isn’t a steady flow with zero voltage—eventually the current dies as the stored energy runs out. In steady real-world conditions, current cannot flow with no voltage.