When a conductor carries no current,

Step-by-step solution

In the absence of an external electric field, the free electrons in a conductor are in continuous random thermal motion. Due to this thermal motion, the electrons are never stationary, and their average speed is non-zero. Because the motion is completely random, the net displacement of any single free electron over a long time interval is zero. Thus, the average velocity of a free electron over a long time interval is zero. Similarly, at any given instant, the random directions of motion of all the free electrons m