Electricity:

Energy: the ability to do work

What is Electricity?

Electricity is an energy. This energy can be used to power electrical items such as toasters,
kettles, cookers, televisions and computer tablets. 

Electrical energy is caused by electrons (the particles in atoms) moving about to make a
current.

Electricity can be created in a variety of ways such as:

 burning fossil fuels (oil, gas, coal) at power stations,
 using wind power generated by wind turbines,
 using solar power generated by the sun,
 using water power (sometimes called hydropower) generated by running or falling water.
Electricity is transported to our homes, schools and places of work through wires and cables.

Electricity can also be stored in batteries (sometimes called cells). 

A simple series electrical circuit is a circuit for electricity to flow around as shown in the
diagram. It's simple because the circuit is a single wire running from a battery to a bulb and
back again.

The diagram shows a battery (cell) with wires connecting it to the bulb.

Some of the electrical vocabulary your child will learn to use includes these terms:

Current: this is the amount of electricity flowing through the circuit (basically a flow of
electrons moving in a loop in the circuit). It can be measured using an ammeter and measured
in amps.
Voltage: is the difference in electrical energy between two parts of a circuit. It can be measured
using a volt meter and is measured in volts. The bigger the voltage, the bigger the current.
Large electrical items need a higher electrical voltage and current than smaller items.

Some objects conduct electricity; this means they allow electricity to flow through them easily.
These are called conductors. Metal items such as spoons, paperclips and coins are good
conductors.

Other objects do not allow electricity to flow through them easily; these are called insulators.
Rubber, paper and some plastics are examples of insulators. 

Semiconductors like silicon conduct or block electricity at different times and are used in
electronics.

Types Of Electricity:

 Static electricity:
 Amazingly we see static electricity every single day; it even builds up on us. Wow! Have
you ever rubbed your feet on the carpet and then zapped something when you touch it?
 Well that’s exactly what static electricity is.
 If you’ve had a bad hair day and it sticks straight up, well this means that your hair has
been charged. Maybe you don’t want to go to school like that!
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 Then there’s another irritating one, when pants or skirts stick to your legs, and they just
keep on irritating you, no matter what you do.
 There you go…that’s how we see static electricity every day.
 What is Static Electricity?
 Static electricity is the build-up of an electrical charge on the surface of an object.


 The reason that it’s actually called static electricity is because the charges stay in one
area for some time and don’t flow or move to a different area.
 Makes sense, doesn’t it?
 Atoms are made up of neutrons, protons, and electrons. The electrons spin around on
the outside.
 A static charge happens when two surfaces touch each other and the electrons move
from one object to another. One of the objects will have a positive charge and the other
a negative charge.
 If you rub an object quickly, like a balloon, or your feet on the carpet, these will build-up
a rather large charge.

 Items with different charges (positive and negative) will attract each other, while items
with similar charges (positive and positive) will push away from each other. It’s kind of
like a magnet!  
 So you’ve gone flying down a slide and your hair stands straight up. This is because of
the friction effect of sliding. It has caused a positive charge on each piece of hair.
 As each hair has the same charge, they all try and push away from each other, causing
that funny straight hair to stand right up!


 The same happens with your skin. If it’s charged with static electricity, and then you
touch something metal, your skin will get rid of the static electricity when you touch it.
 Pretty cool what it can do. 
 How is Static Electricity Used? 
 Static electricity has quite a few uses, here are some:
 It is used in printers and photocopiers where static electric charges attract the ink, or
toner, to the paper.

 Other uses include paint sprayers, air filters, and dust removal. 
 Can Static Electricity Cause Damage?
 Some electronic chips, like you find in computers are very sensitive to static electricity.
There are special bags that they are stored in.


 People who work with these types of electronics wear special straps that keep them
‘grounded’ so they won’t build up a charge and ruin the electronic components.
 Cool Facts About Static Electricity
 A spark of static electricity can measure thousands of volts, but has very
little current and only lasts for a short while. It has small amounts of power or energy.
 Lightning is also static electricity, and it is powerful and dangerous.


 Even though lightning is really dangerous, about 70% of people who are struck by
lightning survive.
 Wow!
 Temperatures in a lightning bolt can hit 50,000°F or 27,760°C. Wow, that’s seriously hot!


 Words you Need to Know
 Atoms – the smallest particle of a chemical element that can exist
 Neutrons – a particle of about the same mass as a proton but without an electric charge
 Protons – a stable particle with a positive electric charge equal in size to that of an
electron

  Electrons – a stable particle with a charge of negative electricity, found in all atoms and
it acts as the primary carrier of electricity in solids
 Friction – this is the resistance that one surface or object meets when moving over
another


 Volts – a volt is the unit of electric potential difference, or the size of the force that
sends electrons through a circuit

Current electricity

When electrons move, they carry electrical energy from one place to another. This is
called current electricity or an electric current. A lightning bolt is one example of an electric
current, although it does not last very long. Electric currents are also involved in powering all
the electrical appliances that you use, from washing machines to flashlights and
from telephones to MP3 players. These electric currents last much longer.

Photo: Appliances use wires (cables) like this to carry electric current around inside them. The
electricity travels through the brown-colored copper metal on the inside. The blue plastic
coating on the outside protects you from the current if you touch the wire. It also stops two
wires making electrical "contact" if they happen to touch.

Have you heard of the terms potential energy and kinetic energy? Potential energy means
energy that is stored somehow for use in the future. A car at the top of a hill has potential
energy, because it has the potential (or ability) to roll down the hill in future. When it's rolling
down the hill, its potential energy is gradually converted into kinetic energy (the energy
something has because it's moving). You can read more about this in our article on energy.

Static electricity and current electricity are like potential energy and kinetic energy. When
electricity gathers in one place, it has the potential to do something in the future. Electricity
stored in a battery is an example of electrical potential energy. You can use the energy in the
battery to power a flashlight, for example. When you switch on a flashlight, the battery inside
begins to supply electrical energy to the lamp, making it give off light. All the time the light is
switched on, energy is flowing from the battery to the lamp. Over time, the energy stored in the
battery is gradually turned into light (and heat) in the lamp. This is why the battery runs flat.

Picture: A battery like this stores electrical potential energy in a chemical form. When the
battery is flat, it means you've used up all the stored energy inside by converting it into other
forms.

Electric circuits

For an electric current to happen, there must be a circuit. A circuit is a closed path or loop
around which an electric current flows. A circuit is usually made by linking electrical
components together with pieces of wire cable. Thus, in a flashlight, there is a simple circuit
with a switch, a lamp, and a battery linked together by a few short pieces of copper wire. When
you turn the switch on, electricity flows around the circuit. If there is a break anywhere in the
circuit, electricity cannot flow. If one of the wires is broken, for example, the lamp will not light.
Similarly, if the switch is turned off, no electricity can flow. This is why a switch is sometimes
called a circuit breaker.
You don't always need wires to make a circuit, however. There is a circuit formed between a
storm cloud and the Earth by the air in between. Normally air does not conduct electricity.
However, if there is a big enough electrical charge in the cloud, it can create charged particles in
the air called ions (atoms that have lost or gained some electrons). The ions work like an
invisible cable linking the cloud above and the air below. Lightning flows through the air
between the ions.