Introduction to Electricity

WHAT IS ELECTRICITY?
All matter consists of atoms! Atoms are the smallest unit of matter. Scientists so far have found 112 different kinds of atoms. Everything in the world is made of different combinations of these atoms. The animation at the right is of an element which has 6 electrons [blue] 6 protons [green] and 6 neutrons [red] Electrons fly about the nucleus of neutrons and protons at the speed of light. Most of the atom is empty space - if you put a golf ball in the center of a football stadium, the golf ball would be the nucleus of the atom , the electrons would fly about the edge of the stadium. Electricity is the movement of charged particles. Hydrogen at the right has the simplest atom: [1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron] Uranium 232 has 232 electrons orbiting the nucleus!




3 Ways to Create a Flow of Electric Charges - Electricity

1. Chemical induction Electrons will flow if 2 different metals [zinc and copper are popular] are placed in an acid.
	The animation at the left is a detailed one of how a battery works to create a flow of electrons! Just like the potato clock the battery uses 2 types of metal and an acid to create a flow of electrons from the carbon rod to the outside zinc can!

1a. Chemical induction - solar cells The different response of 2 different materials responding to the light creates a flow of electrons
2. Magnetic Induction Electrons will flow if a metal spins within the lines of force of a magnet The magnets will induce a flow of electrons in the metal - usually copper.

3. Friction If you rub a balloon on your hair or on a wool sweater, the balloon will pick up a few extra electrons [ - charges] and will attract neutral objects such as paper confetti or rice crispies or even a can made of aluminum
At the right is an animation of how a motor works - note - all that is used are magnets and wire and a battery. If you deleted the battery and spun the armature by hand you would get a generator!
The animation at the right is of a portion of an electromagnet. Scientists discovered that if you ran an electric current through a copper wire and wrapped it around an iron bar, the iron bar would become a very strong magnet, thus demonstrating the link between electrons and magnetism that would lead to the discovery of motors and generators.
	How Big Is an Electron? Not very big at all! A single drop of ordinary water contains about 1,672,000,000,000,000,000,000 electrons. And that doesn't include the protons and neutrons that are combined to make the hydrogen and oxygen atoms of a water molecule! Just to give you an idea of the size of an electron, consider this: A piece of writing paper is about one million atoms thick. If we could increase the size of an atom to that of the Astrodome in Houston, electrons in that atom would be no larger than a baseball.
Link What are atoms? More - a link to a slide show Studying the Atom Lines of Force Demo Static Demos What is Electricity? Genesis of Power Electricity Static Quiz IPPEX Online	What is Electricity? Canada Science Electricity For Kids [Great Graphics] A Fun Quiz Energy Games and Puzzles Interactive Quiz Interactive Demo