UNDERSTANDING THE TERM "ELECTRICITY"

ELECTRICITY

Dow we really know what electricity means?  We all know one thing for sure, if we have a power cut at our home which is quite common in india, we just can't do anything starting from watching TV to taking a hot water bath or perhaps grind something to make that lovely meal.  A Power cut at home is still bearable but a power loss at sea!!! Don't want to write the consequences......we all know what will happen.....
We know we are totally dependent on it and we have hooked up almost every appliance on earth to "Electricity".
In this first post I have tried to explain the meaning of the word Electricity as it get very difficult to get further in the topic without knowing how it works.

This section is entirely "BACK TO SCHOOL"

   

Origin of the word Electricity

  Word electricity originated from Greek word - "ELEKTOR" which means beaming sun. Electricity is all about Protons, Neutrons, Electrons, Atoms. Let's have a look on everything that makes electricity work.

What is Electricity after all?

We all know that the earth revolves around the sun and so do other planets of our solar system and like this there are many other solar systems that combine to form what is called universe.  However universe is a combination of not only solar systems but many other things as well.

Now i say that the universe is something that surrounds our planet and other stars.  In the similar fashion there is another nano universe that surrounds us which we can't see.  Thats a universe of atoms, protons, neutrons, electrons.

We all know that matter is something that has weight and occupies space.  It is atoms that make matter i.e. atoms are the building blocks of matter.  Atoms are made up of even more smaller particles.  The three main particles which are making an atom are Protons, Neutrons and Electrons. . Just the way earth spins around the sun,similarly Electrons spin around the Nucleus, which is made up of Protons and Neutrons  In an atom, Protons are positively charged, Electrons are negatively charged and Neutrons are neutral. 

Atoms are Building blocks of matter and Elements too are building blocks of matter i.e. it is elements that make matter.  In a way we can say that an Atom is a single part that makes up an Element.  There are 118 different types of elements known so far of which oxygen is one.

Each atom has a certain number of electrons, protons and neutrons.  These protons and electrons always try to balance out each other i.e. the number of protons try to be the same number of electrons and as a result atom is said to be balanced or stable. 

Some atoms have loosely attached electrons.  An atom which looses electrons will have more protons than electrons and as a result will be positively charged and is called cation and on the contrary an atom which gains electrons will have a negative charge and is called anion.  So a charged atom is called "ion".

When these electrons move from one atom to another then a current of Electricity is created.  So in simple terms we can say Electricity is Moving electrons.

So what is meant by Conductors and Insulators?

It's simple, things which allow the moving electrons to flow through them are Conductors and things which restrict the flow of electrons is called Insulators.  Examples of good conductors - Gold, Copper, Aluminum, etc whereas Rubber, Plastic, Cloth, Glass are good examples of Insulators.  

So who makes Electrons Move?

 Answer is Simple, MAGNETS.  Magnets have atoms in which electrons are unbalanced unlike any other object where atoms are balanced.  In a magnet half the electrons spin in one direction and half in another as can be seen in the animation.  In magnets the most special thing is that electrons are not moving to find balance and this creates a force of energy which is called Magnetic Field around the magnet.

This Magnetic field can now be made to push and pull electrons and make them move.  Some metals i.e. good conductors like copper which have loosely held electrons can be easily pushed.

Magnetism and electricity and closely lined to each other.  Magnets create Electricity and Electricity creates Magnetic fields.  A Generator is a fine example of Magnets creating Electricity and a Motor is a fine example of Electricity creating Magnetic fields.

Magnetism and electricity are inseparably linked to each other . Where there is magnetism there is electricity or vice-versa and this is called ELECTROMAGNETISM.

So we know now what is electricity and how it is generated.  Next post will go further in the topic and understand the working of Generators and Electric Motors.