Electricity

Electricity is all around us. We can even find it in nature - in the lightning that comes from the sky during a storm.

It is most commonly known as the energy that we use in our everyday lives to make things work.

Our lives would be very different without it.

Electricity is created by generators which can be powered by gas, coal, oil, wind or solar.

Electrcity can be extremely dangerous, so be careful when using electrical appliances.

• The person who discovered that natural electricity creates energy which could be used as a source of power was an American scientist called Benjamin Franklin in 1752.

• When we have a storm, lightning is formed by natural static electricity.

• Electricity can travel close to the speed of light at almost 186,000 miles per second.

• Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1879.

• Diamonds need a small zap of electricity to form.

• Lightning strikes around eight million times a day across the world.

• Scientists have discovered that when bees swarm they create a small electrical field.

To be able to use electricity in our home, shops, schools and other places, it first has to be made.

Electricity can be made in lots of different ways, and some are better for the environment that others.

Electricity can be made by:

Once electricity is created it needs to travel from the power station to where it is needed, such as our houses, shops and schools.

It does this by travelling through wires and cables above the ground or below the ground.

You may have seen cables running overhead from pylon to pylon, like in this picture.

Once electricity is created, it travels through large wires and cables, often carried by large pylons, to places where it is needed.

The electricity that runs to our houses is called mains electricity.

The mains electricity travels through smaller wires that are inside the walls of our houses and take the electricity to the plug sockets that are on the walls.

When you plug an electrical appliance into a plug socket and turn it on, the electricity flows into the appliance and makes it work.

We can also use electricity in other ways in our homes.

Batteries turn chemical energy into small amounts of electrical energy. We use batteries to power small electrical appliances, such as toys, and things that we need to move around, such as electric cars.

Electricity makes things work in different ways.

It can generate:

• Movement

• Heat

• Light

• Sound

WARNING

Electricity can be dangerous.

Make sure you ask a parent or guardian to help you when using electrical equipment.

Plug sockets and wires always have a plastic cover or coating on them which helps to protect us from electric shocks.

Never put anything other than a plug into a plug socket.

Appliances – A device or piece of equipment designed to perform a specific task, such as light bulbs, a fridge or a toaster.

Electricity – The flow of tiny particles called electrons and protons. Electricity is created by generators which can be powered by gas, coal, oil, wind or solar.

Electrical field – A field in the air that surrounds electrically charged particles.

Energy – When something has energy it is able to do work or move. Humans get their energy from food so that they can walk, run and climb.

Environment – The environment is everything that surrounds us, including a; living and non-living things.

Hydro power – Energy that is made by using water. Water spins a turbine and creates movement that can be converted into electrical energy.

Generator – A device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Nuclear – A chain reaction that creates energy through heat as elements break down.

Plug socket – Plugs provide safe electricity for appliances in our homes and other buildings.

Lots of different appliances use electricity.

1. Have a look around the room that you're in and make a list of all the appliances you can see which use electricity.
2. Fold a piece of paper paper into four sections. In each section, draw one of the appliances that you can see.
3. Underneath each drawing, write what types of energy that appliance produces e.g. light and heat energy.

Which is the most common type of energy produced by all of the appliances?

Use a pencil to create your own graphite circuit with this activity from the Science Museum Group.