What is electricity?| Physics, Simple explanation, facts, Type |

What is electricity? 

What is electricity - A form of electric energy that occurs due to the presence of electric charges in matter.  All substances have atoms, and atoms themselves have charged particles.

  

Each proton in the atomic nucleus has one unit positive electric charge, and each electron orbiting a nucleus carries one unit of negative electric charge.

  

Electrical events occur when electrons exit atoms.  The loss of one or more electrons (negative charges) from an atom leaves a positively charged fraction called a positive ion.  An electric current is produced when a mass of electrons coming out of the atoms begins to flow. 

Electricity is a controlled and convenient form of energy used in applications of heat, light and power. Electricity is the flow of electric power or charge.  

It is a secondary energy source which means that we get it from the conversion of other sources of energy such as coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power and other natural sources, which are called primary sources.  

The energy sources we use to create electricity may be renewable or non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable nor non-renewable.

Electricity history 

Starting with Benjamin Franklin's experiment with a kite on a stormy night in Philadelphia, the principles of electricity slowly began to be understood.  

Thomas Edison helped change everyone's life - he perfected his invention - the electric light bulb.

Prior to 1879, direct current (DC) electricity was used in arc lights for outdoor lighting. In the late 1800s, Nikola Tesla pioneered the generation, transmission, and use of alternating current (AC) power, which could be transmitted over much greater distances than direct current.  

Tesla's inventions used electricity to bring indoor lighting to our homes and to power industrial machines.

Science of electricity 

Science of electricity - To understand how electric charge moves from one atom to another, we need to know something about atoms.  Everything in the universe is made up of atoms - every star, every tree, every animal. 

The human body is made up of atoms.  There is also air and water.  Atoms are the building blocks of the universe.  An atom is approximately 10 ^ -8 centimeters in size (meaning that 100 million of them will fit together within one centimeter).

Atoms are made up of even smaller particles.  The center of the atom is called the nucleus.  The size of which is 10^-15.  It is made up of particles called protons and neutrons.  Protons and neutrons are very small, but electrons are very small, about 10^-18 m.

Electrons revolve in the shells around the nucleus, a considerable distance from the nucleus.  If the nucleus was the size of a tennis ball, the atom would be the size of an empire state building.  

Atoms are mostly empty spaces.  If you can see an atom, it will look like a small center of balls surrounded by huge invisible bubbles (or spheres).

The electrons will be on the surface of the bubble, moving continuously and moving to stay as far away from each other as possible.  

Electrons are held in their spheres by an electric force.  The protons and electrons of an atom are attracted towards each other.  They both carry an electric charge.  

An electric charge is a force within a particle. Protons have positive charge (+) and electrons have negative charge (-).  The positive charge of a proton is equal to the negative charge of electrons.  

Opposite charges attract each other.  When an atom is in equilibrium, it has the same number of protons and electrons.  Neutrons have no charge and their number may vary.

The number of protons in an atom determines what type of atom or element it is. An element is a substance in which all atoms are equal (the periodic table represents all known elements).  

For example, each atom of hydrogen has one proton and one electron, with no neutrons.  Each atom of carbon has six protons, six electrons and six neutrons.  The number of protons determines which element it is.

The electrons are usually at the same distance from the nucleus in the exact shells.  The cell closest to the nucleus can hold two electrons.  

The next shell can hold up to eight.  The outer shells hold even more.  Some atoms with multiple protons may have up to seven shells with electrons.

The electrons in the shells closest to the nucleus have a strong force of attraction to the proton.  Sometimes, the outermost shell does not have electrons.  

These electrons can be pushed out of their orbits.  By applying force, they can move from one atom to another.  These moving electrons are electricity.

 

Static electricity

Electricity has always been running in the world.  Electricity is a form of electricity.  These are electrons moving from one cloud to another or jumping from one cloud to the ground.  

Have you ever felt a shock when you touch an object after walking on the carpet?  A stream of electrons jumped from that object to you.  This is called static electricity.  

Have you ever rubbed a balloon and made your hair straight?  If yes, you rubbed some electrons from the balloon. The electrons went from the balloon to your hair.  They tried to get away from each other by going to the end of your hair.  They pushed each other and shook your hair — they chased each other.  

Just as opposite charges attract each other, similarly charges repel each other.

Magnet and electricity

Magnet and electricity - A small magnetic field is created by the movement of electrons around the nucleus of an atom.  

Most objects are not magnetic because atoms are arranged so that electrons move in different, random directions and cancel each other out.  

The magnets are different;  The molecules in the magnet are arranged so that the electrons rotate in the same direction.  

This arrangement of atoms forms two poles in the magnet, a north search pole and a south search pole.

A magnet is labeled with north (N) and south (S) poles.  In a magnet, the magnetic force flows from the North Pole to the South Pole. This creates a magnetic field around a magnet.  

Have you ever placed two magnets next to each other?  They do not act like most objects.  If you try to push the southern poles together, they repel each other. The two north poles also repel each other. 

 

Turn a magnet around and the North (N) and South (S) poles are attracted towards each other.  

The magnets come together with a strong force.  Like protons and electrons, opposites are also attracted.  These special properties of magnets can be used to make electricity.

Dynamic magnetic fields can pull and push electrons.  Some metals, such as copper, have electrons that are relaxed.  The magnets can be moved by pushing them from their shells.  

Magnets and wires are used simultaneously in electrical generators.

Battery generate electricity

A battery generate electricity using two different metals in a chemical solution.  A chemical reaction between metals and chemicals releases more electrons in one metal than another.  

One end of the battery is attached to one of the metals;  The other end is attached to another metal. 

The end that releases more electrons develops a positive charge and the other end develops a negative charge.  

If a wire is placed from one end of the battery to the other, electrons flow through the wire to balance the electric charge.  A load is a device that performs or performs a task.  

If a load (such as a lightbulb) is placed side-by-side with the wire, the power can work as it flows through the wire.

In the photo above, electrons flow through the wire from the negative end of the battery to the lightbulb.  

Electricity flows through the wire into the lightbulb and back into the battery.

Electricity travel in circuit

Electricity travel in circuit - Electricity travel in a closed loop, or circuit.  It must have a complete path before electrons can move.  

If a circuit is open, electrons cannot flow.  When we turn on a light switch, we switch off a circuit.

Electricity flows through the light from the electric wire and back into the wire.  When we switch off, we open the circuit.  No electricity flows into the light.  

When we switch on the light, electricity flows through a small wire in the bulb.  The wire gets very hot.  This brightens the gas in the bulb.

When we turn on the TV, electricity flows through the wires inside the set, producing images and sound.  

Sometimes the motor runs on electricity — in the washer or mixer.  Electricity works for us a lot.  We use it many times every day

How electricity is generated

How electricity is generated - A generator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.  The process is based on the relation between magnetism and electricity.  In 1831, Faraday discovered that when a magnet was moved inside a wire, an electric current flowed across the wire.  

A typical generator in a power plant uses an electromagnet - a magnet produced by electricity - not a conventional magnet.  The generator consists of a series of insulated coils of wire that form a stationary cylinder.

This cylinder encloses a rotary electromagnetic shaft.  When the electromagnetic shaft rotates, it generates a small electric current in each section of the coil of wire.  

Each section of wire becomes a small, separate electrical conductor.  A large stream is formed by joining small streams of different sections together.  

This current is the electric power that is passed from the power company to the consumer. 

An electric utility power station uses either a turbine, engine, water wheel, or other similar machine to drive an electric generator or a device that converts mechanical or chemical energy to generate electricity.

Petroleum

Petroleum can also be used to make steam to turn a turbine.  Residual fuel oil, a product refined from crude oil, is a petroleum product often used in power plants that use petroleum to make steam.

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is a method in which steam is produced by heating water through a process called nuclear fission.  In a nuclear power plant, a reactor contains a core of nuclear fuel, mainly enriched uranium.

  

When uranium fuel atoms collide with neutrons, they emit fission (split), heat and more neutrons.  Under controlled conditions, these other neutrons can attack more uranium atoms, split more atoms, and so on.  

Thus, continuous fission can occur, creating a chain reaction that emits heat.  Heat is used to convert water into steam, which in turn rotates a turbine that generates electricity.

Hydropower

Hydropower is a process in which flowing water is used to spin a turbine connected to a generator.  There are two basic types of hydroelectric systems that produce electricity.  

In the first system, water flows into reservoirs created by the use of dams.  Water falls through a pipe known as a penstock and pressurizes against the turbine blades to drive the generator to generate electricity.  

In the second system, called run-of-river, the force of the river current (instead of falling water) pressurizes the turbine blades to produce electricity.

Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy comes from the heat energy buried under the earth's surface.  In some areas of the country, enough heat increases near the surface of the Earth to heat ground water into steam, which can be used for use in steam-turbine plants.

  

Solar energy 

Solar energy is derived from the energy of the sun.  However, the sun's energy is not available full-time and it is widely scattered.  The processes used to produce electricity using the sun's energy have historically been more expensive than the use of traditional fossil fuels.  

Photovoltaic conversion generates electric power from direct sunlight in a photovoltaic (solar) cell.  Solar-thermal power generators use the energy emanating from the sun to produce steam to drive turbines.

Wind energy

Wind energy is obtained by converting the energy contained in the wind into electricity.  Wind energy, less than 1% of the country's electricity in 2007, is a rapidly growing source of electricity.  A wind turbine is similar to a typical windmill.

Biomass

Biomass includes wood, municipal solid waste (waste), and agricultural waste, such as corn grains and wheat straw.  These are some other energy sources for power generation.  

These sources replace fossil fuels in boilers.  Combustion of wood and waste produces steam that is commonly used in conventional steam-power plants.  Biomass accounts for about 1% of the electricity generated in the United States.

How electricity is supplied to homes  

To solve the problem of sending electricity over long distances, William Stanley developed a device called a transformer.

The transformer allowed electricity to be transmitted efficiently over long distances.  This made it possible to supply electricity to homes and businesses located far from the power generation plant.

The power produced by a generator goes to a transformer with cables, which converts the power from low voltage to high voltage.  Using higher voltages, electricity can be carried more efficiently over longer distances.  

Transmission lines are used to carry power to substations.  Substations have transformers that convert high voltage electricity to low voltage electricity.  

From substations, distribution lines carry electricity to homes, offices, and factories, which require low-voltage electricity.

Measuring power

Power is measured in units of power called watts.  It was named in honor of James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine.  One watt is a very small amount of electricity.  

It would require about 750 watts to equal one horsepower.  One kilowatt represents 1,000 watts.  One kilowatt-hour (kWh) is equal to 1,000 watts of energy worked in an hour.  

The amount of electricity a power plant generates or a customer uses over a period of time is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh).  

Kilowatt hours are determined by multiplying the number of kilowatts required by the number of hours of use.  For example, if you use a 40-watt light bulb 5 hours a day, you have used 200 watt-hours of electrical energy, or 0.2 kilowatt-hours.

What is electricity?| science of electricity | Static electricity | magnet and electricity | Battery generate electricity | Electricity travel in circuit | How electricity is generated | How electricity is supplied to homes | Measuring power |

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