Using Reaction-Diffusion Waves to Visualize Electron Drift Velocity

We are using chemical reaction-diffusion waves to visualize the drift velocities of electrons in conductors. Though electrons move very fast, the actual drift velocity along the wire is surprisingly small. In our table-top analog, we employ the chemical Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction to create easily visible, colorful fronts moving in quasi-one-dimensional channels. The initial chemical composition of the solution defines the electron drift velocity. Using several parallel channels, each filled with a slightly different solution, we can create observable fronts propagating at different speeds. As a result one can compare different conductors (number of free electrons n), applied currents I, or wire radii r on the electron drift velocity in a real material. Our experiments are supported by Python simulations using reaction-diffusion waves, connecting the desired variables n, I, and r with necessary component concentrations.