Electric fluid to electric current: The problematic attempts of abstraction to concretization

TL;DR

This paper examines the historical and pedagogical challenges of using fluid and water circuit analogies to teach electricity, highlighting issues in conceptual understanding and suggesting considerations for physics educators.

Contribution

It provides a historical overview and pedagogical critique of fluid analogies in teaching electricity, offering insights for improving physics education.

Findings

Fluid analogies have pedagogical limitations in teaching electricity.

Historical attempts aimed to concretize electricity concepts using fluid imagery.

Educational research highlights issues with the effectiveness of these analogies.

Abstract

In ancient times, electricity was viewed as a spirit or soul residing in an inanimate substance. A fluid image was introduced in an attempt to visualize its movement. It was also an effort to concretize its nature into the realm of physical objects as opposed to metaphysical. Eventually, a water circuit analogy has evolved and been introduced in science and engineering textbooks, old and new, to extend the depiction of a fluid image. However, educational research in physics and science education has documented a number of pedagogical issues regarding the use of this analogy. This paper outlines the historical attempts in the concretization of a fluid image to promote History of Science approach in teaching physics among physics teachers in first year undergraduate and physics in-service teachers. Equally important, it discusses the pedagogical concerns of this analogy as it relates to science teaching and learning processes in secondary physics education. The discussions might serve as pedagogical considerations for first year undergraduate physics instructors that need to connect with students entering post-secondary physics courses.