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ED Electrical Developments Ltd
Date Added: July 22, 2009 10:32:36 PM
Author: Anonymous
Category: Blogs: Eclectic

WHAT IS ELECTRICITY, REALLY?

You may have seen many definitions about electricity. But we have a simple answer. There are TWO main things that flow along wires:

Electric Charge
Electric Energy
There are several other things that flow as well, but to keep it simple, we'll ignore them.
Because there are TWO things flowing, we cannot call them by the name "electricity." For this reason, we cannot ask "what is electricity?" Instead we have to ask more specific questions like these:

What is the stuff that flows through a light bulb and comes back out again through the other wire?
What is the stuff that flows into a light bulb and gets changed entirely into light and heat?
The answer to question #1 is ELECTRIC CHARGE. Charge is a "stuff" that flows through lightbulbs, and it flows around a circuit. Normally no charge is lost during the operation of a circuit, and no charge is gained. Also, charge flows very slowly, and it can even stop flowing and just sit there inside the wires. In an AC circuit, charge does not flow forwards at all, instead it sits in one place and wiggles forwards and back.
The answer to question #2 is ELECTRICAL ENERGY. It's also called "electromagnetic energy". This energy is also like a "stuff" and it can flow from place to place. It always flows very fast; almost at the speed of light. It can be gained and lost from circuits, such as when a light bulb changes the flow of electrical energy into a flow of light and heat.