[14] Briefly, the S-flow outside the wire will be flowing
along essentially at the speed of light, at or with the same
since S-flow without divergence is along an
equipotential. Said another way, a nondiverging Poynting
flow S exhibits a constant potential ~ along its
streamlines. A tiny, tiny portion of the S-flow is
intercepted by the sluggish electrons (which may be moving
as dq/dt at 11 feet per hour, in a typical case), to form
the Slepian vector J~. The J~ portion is just the minute
fraction of the S-flow that is actually intercepted by the
electron current and transported to the impedances, for
releasing the excess ~ in the loads and losses.
[Incidentally, this wee note resolves a century of
controversy over exactly how EM energy flows in circuits.
The orthodox literature abounds with discussions, differing
positions, and debates and with errors.]