What is Electricity?

Electricity is a type of energy that consists of the movement of electrons between two points when there
is a potential difference between them, making it possible to generate what is known as an electric
current.
Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. It is a secondary energy source which means that we
get it from the conversion of other sources of energy, like coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power and other
natural sources, which are called primary sources. The energy sources we use to make electricity can be
renewable or non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable or non-renewable.
Electricity is a basic part of nature and it is one of our most widely used forms of energy. Many cities
and towns were built alongside waterfalls (a primary source of mechanical energy) that turned water
wheels to perform work. Before electricity generation began over 100 years ago, houses were lit with
kerosene lamps, food was cooled in iceboxes, and rooms were warmed by wood-burning or coal-burning
stoves. Beginning with Benjamin Franklin's experiment with a kite one stormy night in Philadelphia, the
principles of electricity gradually became understood. Thomas Edison helped change everyone's life --
he perfected his invention -- the electric light bulb. Prior to 1879, direct current (DC) electricity had
been used in arc lights for outdoor lighting. In the late-1800s, Nikola Tesla pioneered the generation,
transmission, and use of alternating current (AC) electricity, which can be transmitted over much greater
distances than direct current. Tesla's inventions used electricity to bring indoor lighting to our homes
and to power industrial machines.
Despite its great importance in our daily lives, most of us rarely stop to think what life would be like
without electricity. Yet like air and water, we tend to take electricity for granted. Everyday, we use
electricity to do many jobs for us -- from lighting and heating/cooling our homes, to powering our
televisions and computers. Electricity is a controllable and convenient form of energy used in the
applications of heat, light and power.
THE SCIENCE OF ELECTRICITY
In order to understand how electric charge moves from one atom to another, we need to know something
about atoms. Everything in the universe is made of atoms—every star, every tree, every animal. The
human body is made of atoms. Air and water are, too. Atoms are the building blocks of the universe.
Atoms are so small that millions of them would fit on the head of a pin.
Atoms are made of even smaller particles. The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It is made of
particles called protons and neutrons. The protons and neutrons are very small, but electrons are much,
much smaller. Electrons spin around the nucleus in shells a great distance from the nucleus. If the
nucleus were the size of a tennis ball, the atom would be the size of the Empire State Building. Atoms
are mostly empty space.
If you could see an atom, it would look a little like a tiny
center of balls surrounded by giant invisible bubbles (or
shells). The electrons would be on the surface of the
bubbles, constantly spinning and moving to stay as far
away from each other as possible. Electrons are held in
their shells by an electrical force.
The protons and electrons of an atom are attracted to each
other. They both carry an electrical charge. An electrical
charge is a force within the particle. Protons have a positive
charge (+) and electrons have a negative charge (-). The
positive charge of the protons is equal to the negative
charge of the electrons. Opposite charges attract each other.
When an atom is in balance, it has an equal number of
protons and electrons. The neutrons carry no charge and
their number can vary.
The number of protons in an atom determines the kind of
atom, or element, it is. An element is a substance in which
all of the atoms are identical (the Periodic Table shows all
the known elements). Every atom of hydrogen, for
example, has one proton and one electron, with no
neutrons. Every atom of carbon has six protons, six
electrons, and six neutrons. The number of protons
determines which element it is.
Electrons usually remain a constant distance from the
nucleus in precise shells. The shell closest to the nucleus
can hold two electrons. The next shell can hold up to eight.
The outer shells cans hold even more. Some atoms with
many protons can have as many as seven shells with
electrons in them.
The electrons in the shells closest to the nucleus have a strong force of attraction to the protons.
Sometimes, the electrons in the outermost shells do not. These electrons can be pushed out of their
orbits. Applying a force can make them move from one atom to another. These moving electrons are
electricity.
STATIC ELECTRICITY
Electricity has been moving in the world forever. Lightning is a form of electricity. It is electrons
moving from one cloud to another or jumping from a cloud to the ground. Have you ever felt a shock
when you touched an object after walking across a carpet? A stream of electrons jumped to you from
that object. This is called static electricity.
Have you ever made your hair stand straight up by rubbing a balloon on it? If so, you rubbed
some electrons off the balloon. The electrons moved into your hair from the balloon. They tried to get
far away from each other by moving to the ends of your hair. They pushed against each other and made
your hair move—they repelled each other. Just as opposite charges attract each other, like charges repel
each other.
MAGNETS AND ELECTRICITY
The spinning of the electrons around the nucleus of an atom creates a tiny magnetic field. Most objects
are not magnetic because the atoms are arranged so that the electrons spin in different, random
directions, and cancel out each other.
Magnets are different; the molecules in magnets are arranged so that the electrons spin in the same
direction. This arrangement of atoms creates two poles in a magnet, a North seeking pole and a South-
seeking pole.
Bar Magnet
A magnet is labeled with North (N) and South (S) poles. The magnetic force in a magnet flows from the
North Pole to the South Pole. This creates a magnetic field around a magnet.

Have you ever held two magnets close to each other? They don’t act like most objects. If you try to push
the South poles together, they repel each other. Two North poles also repel each other.
Turn one magnet around and the North (N) and the South (S) poles are attracted to each other. The
magnets come together with a strong force. Just like protons and electrons, opposites attract.

These special properties of magnets can be used to make electricity. Moving magnetic fields can pull
and push electrons. Some metals, like copper have electrons that are loosely held. They can be pushed
from their shells by moving magnets. Magnets and wire are used together in electric generators.
BATTERIES PRODUCE ELECTRICITY
A battery produces electricity using two different
metals in a chemical solution. A chemical reaction
between the metals and the chemicals frees more
electrons in one metal than in the other. One end of the
battery is attached to one of the metals; the other end is
attached to the other metal. The end that frees more
electrons develops a positive charge and the other end
develops a negative charge. If a wire is attached from
one end of the battery to the other, electrons flow
through the wire to balance the electrical charge.
A load is a device that does work or performs a job. If a
load––such as a light bulb––is placed along the wire,
the electricity can do work as it flows through the wire.
In the picture above, electrons flow from the negative
end of the battery through the wire to the light bulb.
The electricity flows through the wire in the light bulb
and back to the battery.
ELECTRICITY TRAVELS IN CIRCUITS
Electricity travels in closed loops, or circuits (from the word circle). It must have a complete path before
the electrons can move. If a circuit is open, the electrons cannot flow. When we flip on a light switch,
we close a circuit. The electricity flows from the electric wire through the light and back into the wire.
When we flip the switch off, we open the circuit. No electricity flows to the light. When we turn a light
switch on, electricity flows through a tiny wire in the bulb. The wire gets very hot. It makes the gas in
the bulb glow. When the bulb burns out, the tiny wire has broken. The path through the bulb is gone.
When we turn on the TV, electricity flows through wires inside the set, producing pictures and sound.
Sometimes electricity runs motors—in washers or mixers. Electricity does a lot of work for us. We use it
many times each day.

HOW ELECTRICITY IS GENERATED

A generator is a device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. The process is based on
the relationship between magnetism and electricity. In 1831, Faraday discovered that when a magnet is
moved inside a coil of wire, electrical current flows in the wire.
A typical generator at a power plant uses an electromagnet—a magnet produced by electricity—not a
traditional magnet. The generator has a series of insulated coils of wire that form a stationary cylinder.
This cylinder surrounds a rotary electromagnetic shaft. When the electromagnetic shaft rotates, it
induces a small electric current in each section of the wire coil. Each section of the wire becomes a
small, separate electric conductor. The small currents of individual sections are added together to form
one large current. This current is the electric power that is transmitted from the power company to the
consumer.
An electric utility power station uses either a turbine, engine, water
wheel, or other similar machine to drive an electric generator or a
device that converts mechanical or chemical energy to generate
electricity. Steam turbines, internal combustion engines, gas
combustion turbines, water turbines, and wind turbines are the most
common methods to generate electricity. Most power plants are about
35 percent efficient. That means that for every 100 units of energy that
go into a plant, only 35 units are converted to usable electrical energy.
Most of the electricity in the United States is produced in steam
turbines. A turbine converts the kinetic energy of a moving fluid
(liquid or gas) to mechanical energy. Steam turbines have a series of
blades mounted on a shaft against which steam is forced, thus rotating
the shaft connected to the generator. In a fossil-fueled steam turbine,
the fuel is burned in a furnace to heat water in a boiler to produce
steam. Coal, petroleum (oil), and natural gas are burned in large
furnaces to heat water to make steam that in turn pushes on the blades
of a turbine.
Did you know that most electricity generated in the United State comes from burning coal? In 2007,
nearly half (48.5%) of the country's 4.1 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity used coal as its source of
energy.
Natural gas, in addition to being burned to heat water for steam, can also be burned to produce hot
combustion gases that pass directly through a turbine, spinning the blades of the turbine to generate
electricity. Gas turbines are commonly used when electricity utility usage is in high demand. In 2007,
21.6% of the nation's electricity was fueled by natural gas.
Petroleum can also be used to make steam to turn a turbine. Residual fuel oil, a product refined from
crude oil, is often the petroleum product used in electric plants that use petroleum to make steam.
Petroleum was used to generate about two percent (2%) of all electricity generated in U.S. electricity
plants in 2007.
Nuclear power is a method in which steam is produced by heating water through a process called
nuclear fission. In a nuclear power plant, a reactor contains a core of nuclear fuel, primarily enriched
uranium. When atoms of uranium fuel are hit by neutrons they fission (split), releasing heat and more
neutrons. Under controlled conditions, these other neutrons can strike more uranium atoms, splitting
more atoms, and so on. Thereby, continuous fission can take place, forming a chain reaction releasing
heat. The heat is used to turn water into steam, that, in turn, spins a turbine that generates electricity.
Nuclear power was used to generate 19.4% of all the country's electricity in 2007.
Hydropower, the source for 5.8% of U.S. electricity generation in 2007, is a process in which flowing
water is used to spin a turbine connected to a generator. There are two basic types of hydroelectric
systems that produce electricity. In the first system, flowing water accumulates in reservoirs created by
the use of dams. The water falls through a pipe called a penstock and applies pressure against the turbine
blades to drive the generator to produce electricity. In the second system, called run-of-river, the force of
the river current (rather than falling water) applies pressure to the turbine blades to produce electricity.
Geothermal power comes from heat energy buried beneath the surface of the earth. In some areas of the
country, enough heat rises close to the surface of the earth to heat underground water into steam, which
can be tapped for use at steam-turbine plants. This energy source generated less than 1% of the
electricity in the country in 2007.
Solar power is derived from the energy of the sun. However, the sun's energy is not available full-time
and it is widely scattered. The processes used to produce electricity using the sun's energy have
historically been more expensive than using conventional fossil fuels. Photovoltaic conversion generates
electric power directly from the light of the sun in a photovoltaic (solar) cell. Solar-thermal electric
generators use the radiant energy from the sun to produce steam to drive turbines. In 2007, less than 1%
of the nation's electricity was based on solar power.
Wind power is derived from the conversion of the energy contained in wind into electricity. Wind
power, less than 1% of the nation's electricity in 2007, is a rapidly growing source of electricity. A wind
turbine is similar to a typical wind mill.
Biomass includes wood, municipal solid waste (garbage), and agricultural waste, such as corn cobs and
wheat straw. These are some other energy sources for producing electricity. These sources replace fossil
fuels in the boiler. The combustion of wood and waste creates steam that is typically used in
conventional steam-electric plants. Biomass accounts for about 1% of the electricity generated in the
United States.
THE TRANSFORMER - MOVING ELECTRICITY
To solve the problem of sending electricity over long distances, William Stanley developed a device
called a transformer. The transformer allowed electricity to be efficiently transmitted over long
distances. This made it possible to supply electricity to homes and businesses located far from the
electric generating plant.

The electricity produced by a generator travels along cables to a transformer, which changes electricity
from low voltage to high voltage. Electricity can be moved long distances more efficiently using high
voltage. Transmission lines are used to carry the electricity to a substation. Substations have
transformers that change the high voltage electricity into lower voltage electricity. From the substation,
distribution lines carry the electricity to homes, offices and factories, which require low voltage
electricity.
MEASURING ELECTRICITY
Electricity is measured in units of power called watts. It was named to honor James Watt, the inventor of
the steam engine. One watt is a very small amount of power. It would require nearly 750 watts to equal
one horsepower. A kilowatt represents 1,000 watts. A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is equal to the energy of
1,000 watts working for one hour. The amount of electricity a power plant generates or a customer uses
over a period of time is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Kilowatt-hours are determined by
multiplying the number of kW's required by the number of hours of use. For example, if you use a 40-
watt light bulb 5 hours a day, you have used 200 watt-hours, or 0.2 kilowatt-hours, of electrical energy.
See our Energy Calculator section to learn more about converting units.