G06 - Science - Unit 3 - It's Electrifying: What is Electricity?

What, exactly, is electricity? What would our lives be like without electricity? Take a step back in time to find out how people lived, before electricity became a common part of our lives.

Want to see some information and visualizations explaining electricity. This animated infographic explores how electricity works, electric charges, how we measure electricity, and how we power our lives through electricity.

The basic knowledge you need to know to understand how electricity works can be found at the Alliant Energy Kids website. The site has great illustrations to go along with the text. Start with some fun facts about electricity and then follow each step to learn how electricity gets to your home. There is a description of the different ways in which electricity is made. Look at the many ways in which people use electricity.

Electricity makes many of the things we take for granted possible. Your house is filled with electrical outlets, and the cars you rely on wouldn't start without the electricity produced by their batteries. So how exactly does electricity work? Start your education with some electricity basics. Learn about key terms including generators, volts, and amps. You'll also learn about circuits, watts, kilowatt-hours, and ohms. Finally, read about direct current versus alternating current and electrical grounding.

Being an electric lineworker is a very dangerous and difficult job that requires lots of training. Lineworkers learn how to fix the electricity along with how to handle electricity safety emergencies. Read all about the climbing tools and safety equipment required to be used by the lineworkers. They need special protective gears and tools to prevent from being shocked or burned. Do you know what fuzz box means? This is one of many fun words used by the lineworkers. Learn many more words here too.

What kinds of jobs do electrical engineers do? Learn what types of equipment electrical engineers work on, what basic steps they use in planning new technology, and what types of environments they work in. What level of education is needed and the outlook for future jobs is listed here, as well as how electrical engineers are paid. Here you can also learn some personality traits that a person needs to be a successful electrical engineer.

Learn about some types of electric vehicles. This article focuses on battery-electric cars that are used in confined areas such as airports. These cars do not go over 35 mph. The article explains how the cars get their energy and how they are currently used. The second part of the article explores the costs associated with these electric vehicles. The cost is broken down, and it is also compared with the costs of gasoline in a regular vehicle.

What kinds of jobs do electrical engineers do? Read this article from Factmonster to find out. Learn what types of equipment electrical engineers work on, what basic steps they use in planning new technology, and what types of environments they work in. An important part of learning about electrical engineering is information about what education a person needs to have a career in this area. The basics of this information are available in this article also. Here you can also learn some personality traits that a person needs to be a successful electrical engineer.

Electric cars require a different type of energy. In this article you can learn about this electric energy and how cars use it. Read about the difference between electric vehicles and neighborhood electric vehicles. There is also a possibility of converting a gasoline car into an electric car, and this article gives some information and resources about this topic. There are links to lists of neighborhood electric cars, scooters and bicycles, and also to a map of electric charging stations in various states around the country.

We have all seen static electricity at work in our every day lives, but have you ever started your very own electrical flea circus using static? This site provides you will a materials list and instructions to turn simple objects into leaping electrical fleas. Have fun while learning about static electricity.

Learn some of the most important facts about electric vehicles. This article explains the basics of how these cars work. It also gives the reasons why electric vehicles are useful, such as the lack of pollution from the car itself. The second part of the article lists the down side to electric vehicles, such as the shorter driving range before recharging is necessary. There are also links to videos of electric vehicles in action. The end of the article lists additional resources.

If you were to look up "electric current" in an encyclopedia or a dictionary, you would only see a brief definition such as; electric current is the net movement or flow of electric charge from one point to another or across some boundary. You would then be directed to alternating current, direct current or electricity for more information. All of these links are available here.

The electric force that propels electric cars is discussed and studied on this web site. Visitors may view a prototype vehicle that demonstrates the controller, the motor, batteries, accessory battery, charging system; learn about creating a conversion vehicle; participate in an EV challenge; and find links to more web sites.

You are surrounded by something right now! Electric motors are all over the place. This web site will help you understand how a motor works. By learning about motors, you will also learn about magnets, electromagnets, and electricity in general. You will find out how motors use magnets to create motion. Take a look inside a tiny motor that is about as big around as a dime. Discover the parts that make up a motor.

This introduction to electricity and magnetism contains a collection of more than 40 interactive tutorials that allow you to explore the principles and basic concepts of electricity and magnetism. Discover how a compact disc works, or the directional relationships between magnetic fields, voltage, and current. You can also explore lightning as a natural capacitor, the effects of induced electromagnetic fields on the orientation of a compass, and several other topics related to electricity and magnetism.

If you have ever felt a 'shock' when someone runs across a carpet and then touches your arm or had your hair stick out from your head without hair gel, you have experienced static electricity. Find out how static electricity works affects people in space from this NASA website.

Start with this article for an easy to understand presentation about electric current. Good comparisons are made to common items. This helps you to develop your knowledge of electrical current. Have you ever wondered what causes that noise you hear from a fluorescent bulb, or when walking near power lines? Find out the cause here. An inset article explores the history of the use of electric energy in the home. If you follow the link to the article on electricity you will discover many more related articles.

Want to understand the science behind conductors? Check out this short article with information on
conductors at work, superconductors, and insulators. It also has a short biography on Georg Ohm. The German scientists who is credited with discovering the law governing current flowing through conductors.