töltéshordozóval

A töltéshordozóval, often translated as "charge carrier," is a fundamental concept in physics and electrical engineering, particularly in the study of materials and their electrical conductivity. It refers to any particle that possesses an electric charge and is free to move within a material, thereby contributing to the flow of electric current.

The most common types of charge carriers are electrons and holes. In metallic conductors, the charge carriers are predominantly free electrons, which are loosely bound to their atoms and can move easily throughout the metal lattice. In semiconductors, both electrons and holes act as charge carriers. Electrons are negatively charged particles, while holes are conceptualized as positively charged vacancies left behind when an electron moves to a new position.

The movement of these charge carriers, driven by an electric field, constitutes an electric current. The number of charge carriers per unit volume, known as their concentration, and their mobility, which describes how easily they move through the material, are key factors determining a material's conductivity. In electrolytes, ions (charged atoms or molecules) serve as charge carriers. Understanding the nature and behavior of charge carriers is crucial for designing and analyzing electronic devices, from simple wires to complex integrated circuits.