<P> The moving charged particles in an electric current are called charge carriers . In metals, one or more electrons from each atom are loosely bound to the atom, and can move freely about within the metal . These conduction electrons are the charge carriers in metal conductors . </P> <P> The conventional symbol for current is I, which originates from the French phrase intensité de courant, (current intensity). Current intensity is often referred to simply as current . The I symbol was used by André - Marie Ampère, after whom the unit of electric current is named, in formulating Ampère's force law (1820). The notation travelled from France to Great Britain, where it became standard, although at least one journal did not change from using C to I until 1896 . </P> <P> In a conductive material, the moving charged particles which constitute the electric current are called charge carriers . In metals, which make up the wires and other conductors in most electrical circuits, the positively charged atomic nuclei are held in a fixed position, and the negatively charged electrons are free to move, carrying their charge from one place to another . In other materials, notably the semiconductors, the charge carriers can be positive or negative, depending on the dopant used . Positive and negative charge carriers may even be present at the same time, as happens in an electrolyte in an electrochemical cell . </P> <P> A flow of positive charges gives the same electric current, and has the same effect in a circuit, as an equal flow of negative charges in the opposite direction . Since current can be the flow of either positive or negative charges, or both, a convention is needed for the direction of current that is independent of the type of charge carriers . The direction of conventional current is arbitrarily defined as the same direction as positive charges flow . </P>

Describe the flow of current in a conductor
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