The displacement of charge in response to the force exerted by an electric field constitutes a reduction in the potential energy of the system. If the charge is part of a steady current, there must be...The displacement of charge in response to the force exerted by an electric field constitutes a reduction in the potential energy of the system. If the charge is part of a steady current, there must be an associated loss of energy that occurs at a steady rate. Since power is energy per unit time, the loss of energy associated with current is expressible as power dissipation. Here. we address two questions: (1) How much power is dissipated in this manner, and (2) What happens to the lost energy?
