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Re: should c be a subset of c++?

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Richard Bos <raltbos@xs4all.nl> wrote:
> Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> wrote:
 
>> In the proton electron case, the signs are just a convention.
>> There's no reason why electrons are negative, other than historical
>> accident.
 
> That's a nonsensical argument. Yes, electrons could have been positive -
> but in that case, protons would have _had_ to be negative. Their charges
> are opposite, so whatever choice you make, one, exactly one, of them has
> to be positive, and the other negative. In the case of electrical
> charge, however much you argue against it at a middle-school level,
> physics _needs_ negative numbers - one way, or another.

Since electron currents are much more useful than proton currents,
some might suggest that having the electron positive would be more
convenient.

But most of EE does just fine with current being, by definition,
positve in the direction that positive charges would move. 

But even more, there are materials with a positive Hall coefficient.
That is, where the current charge carriers are positive.

Aluminum has both hole and electron bands, with the latter slightly
more populated at low magnetic field. At higher field, the hole bands
are more populated. As most electric power is sent through aluminum
wires (just about until it gets into your house) it isn't so far off
to say that current should be positive.

-- glen

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Re: should c be a subset of c++? "J. Clarke" <j.clarke.873638@gmail.com> - 2015-11-06 19:06 -0500
  Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-07 00:41 -0800
    Re: should c be a subset of c++? Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2015-11-07 10:01 -0500
      Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-07 09:12 -0800
        Re: should c be a subset of c++? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2015-11-07 11:58 -0600
          Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-07 10:25 -0800
            Re: should c be a subset of c++? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-11-07 11:54 -0800
              Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-07 14:22 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2015-11-08 13:05 -0600
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-08 11:39 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-11-13 13:20 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-11-13 16:36 -0500
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-14 00:03 +0000
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-11-13 17:06 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Geoff <geoff@invalid.invalid> - 2015-11-13 13:29 -0800
            Re: should c be a subset of c++? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2015-11-08 12:57 -0600
              Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-08 11:37 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-11-08 17:16 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? supercat@casperkitty.com - 2015-11-08 18:19 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Martin Shobe <martin.shobe@yahoo.com> - 2015-11-08 23:25 -0600
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Gareth Owen <gwowen@gmail.com> - 2015-11-10 22:34 +0000
        Re: should c be a subset of c++? raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-11-13 22:18 +0000
          Re: should c be a subset of c++? glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-14 00:11 +0000
            Re: should c be a subset of c++? raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-11-17 22:16 +0000
              Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-17 21:09 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-11-18 05:22 +0000
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-11-18 06:03 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-18 08:44 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-11-18 09:11 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-18 09:54 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Philip Lantz <prl@canterey.us> - 2015-11-24 01:49 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-24 02:58 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-11-24 11:58 +0000
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-11-24 09:09 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2015-11-25 00:12 -0800
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-25 12:35 +0000
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-11-27 16:30 +0000
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-11-19 10:37 +0000
                Re: should c be a subset of c++? Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2015-11-20 15:40 -0800
  Re: should c be a subset of c++? Gareth Owen <gwowen@gmail.com> - 2015-11-10 22:20 +0000

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