Electricity is so much part of our lives in this modern world that we take it very much for granted. Only when there is an electrical breakdown are we reminded how dependent we have become on it. Electricity does so many things for us. Without it our modern way of living will be severely affected or even impossible. It is beneficial for us to understand it better and thus appreciate its important role in our lives.
Electricity is simply the flow of electrically charged particles through a conductor. A common conductor is the electrical wire. In this wire the electrically charged particles are electron of the metallic conductor. These electrons can be made to move through the wire by a generator, an electric cell of other means. The movement of these electrons through the wire is that we call electricity. When connected to an electrical appliance, the energetic electrons give some of their energy to the appliance thus making it work. For example, electrons passing through the filament of a light bulb causes the filament to hear up and give out light.
Other appliances work on different principles but basically they all get their energy from the movement of the electrons through them.
A lightning bolt is actually the movement of charge particles from a cloud to another or to the earth. The conductor is the air itself. As we all know, this form of electricity is very powerful indeed. A person struck by lightning is liable to get roasted. Even our household electrical supply is a very powerful. One can get electrocuted by it.
Electricity drives so many appliances in our modern world. The radio, television, iron, refrigerator, computer pocket calculator, fan, light bulb, motor and hundreds of other devices all require electricity in order to work. If we did not know how to use electricity our world not be as it is now. Can you imagine life without the radio, television, fan, or the light bulb? Well, we would not have these things without electricity.
Electricity, for all its wonder and usefulness, is not easy to store. Except for batteries, hardly anything else can store electricity in sufficient amounts. So in order to get this precious energy we need to convert it from other forms of energy.
The most common way of generating is by using a generator. But to run a generator we need other sources of energy. We make us of coal, water, oil, energy from the sun, atomic energy and other sources to drive our generators. So day and night we use up other sources or energy to supply us with electricity. We have become so dependent on it. Without it our world will be entirely different. Perhaps some time in the future we may be able to discover something else that can replace our dependence on electricity. Till that time however, we have to go on using it.
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ELECTRICITY - A Secondary Energy Source
Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. It is a secondary energy source which means that we get it from the conversion of other sources of energy, like coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power and other natural sources, which are called primary sources. The energy sources we use to make electricity can be renewable or non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable or non-renewable.
THE SCIENCE OF ELECTRICITY
In order to understand how electric charge moves from one atom to another, we need to know something about atoms. Everything in the universe is made of atoms—every star, every tree, every animal. The human body is made of atoms. Air and water are, too. Atoms are the building blocks of the universe. Atoms are so small that millions of them would fit on the head of a pin.
Atoms are made of even smaller particles. The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It is made of particles called protons and neutrons. The protons and neutrons are very small, but electrons are much, much smaller. Electrons spin around the nucleus in shells a great distance from the nucleus. If the nucleus were the size of a tennis ball, the atom would be the size of the Empire State Building. Atoms are mostly empty space.
If you could see an atom, it would look a little like a tiny center of balls surrounded by giant invisible bubbles (or shells). The electrons would be on the surface of the bubbles, constantly spinning and moving to stay as far away from each other as possible. Electrons are held in their shells by an electrical force.
The protons and electrons of an atom are attracted to each other. They both carry an electrical charge. An electrical charge is a force within the particle. Protons have a positive charge (+) and electrons have a negative charge (-). The positive charge of the protons is equal to the negative charge of the electrons. Opposite charges attract each other. When an atom is in balance, it has an equal number of protons and electrons. The neutrons carry no charge and their number can vary.
The number of protons in an atom determines the kind of atom, or element, it is. An element is a substance in which all of the atoms are identical (the Periodic Table shows all the known elements). Every atom of hydrogen, for example, has one proton and one electron, with no neutrons. Every atom of carbon has six protons, six electrons, and six neutrons. The number of protons determines which element it is.
Electrons usually remain a constant distance from the nucleus in precise shells. The shell closest to the nucleus can hold two electrons. The next shell can hold up to eight. The outer shells cans hold even more. Some atoms with many protons can have as many as seven shells with electrons in them.
The electrons in the shells closest to the nucleus have a strong force of attraction to the protons. Sometimes, the electrons in the outermost shells do not. These electrons can be pushed out of their orbits. Applying a force can make them move from one atom to another. These moving electrons are electricity.
Atoms are made of even smaller particles. The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It is made of particles called protons and neutrons. The protons and neutrons are very small, but electrons are much, much smaller. Electrons spin around the nucleus in shells a great distance from the nucleus. If the nucleus were the size of a tennis ball, the atom would be the size of the Empire State Building. Atoms are mostly empty space.
If you could see an atom, it would look a little like a tiny center of balls surrounded by giant invisible bubbles (or shells). The electrons would be on the surface of the bubbles, constantly spinning and moving to stay as far away from each other as possible. Electrons are held in their shells by an electrical force.
The protons and electrons of an atom are attracted to each other. They both carry an electrical charge. An electrical charge is a force within the particle. Protons have a positive charge (+) and electrons have a negative charge (-). The positive charge of the protons is equal to the negative charge of the electrons. Opposite charges attract each other. When an atom is in balance, it has an equal number of protons and electrons. The neutrons carry no charge and their number can vary.
The number of protons in an atom determines the kind of atom, or element, it is. An element is a substance in which all of the atoms are identical (the Periodic Table shows all the known elements). Every atom of hydrogen, for example, has one proton and one electron, with no neutrons. Every atom of carbon has six protons, six electrons, and six neutrons. The number of protons determines which element it is.
Electrons usually remain a constant distance from the nucleus in precise shells. The shell closest to the nucleus can hold two electrons. The next shell can hold up to eight. The outer shells cans hold even more. Some atoms with many protons can have as many as seven shells with electrons in them.
The electrons in the shells closest to the nucleus have a strong force of attraction to the protons. Sometimes, the electrons in the outermost shells do not. These electrons can be pushed out of their orbits. Applying a force can make them move from one atom to another. These moving electrons are electricity.