Electricity
Electricity is a fundamental aspect of our modern world, powering everything from lights and appliances to computers and transportation systems. Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge.
History of Electricity
The history of electricity is marked by key inventions and innovations that have shaped our modern world. Alessandro Volta’s creation of the first electric cell in 1800 laid the foundation for practical electricity generation. Thomas Edison’s development of the incandescent light bulb and the Pearl Street Power Station in 1882 brought electricity into people’s homes for the first time. The advent of alternating current (AC) power systems, pioneered by Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, revolutionized long-distance electricity transmission. Tesla’s inventions, including the Tesla Coil and AC motor, further advanced electrical technology. The construction of hydroelectric power plants, such as those at Niagara Falls, contributed to the widespread adoption of electricity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the 1940s, electrical appliances became commonplace in households, marking the dawn of the modern electric age. Throughout history, innovations in electrical technology have continued to drive progress, shaping the way we live, work, and communicate.
Types of Electricity
Electricity is a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles either statistically as build-up of charged or dynamically as a current. There are mainly two types of electricity:
- Static Electricity
- Dynamic electricity
Static Electricity
Static electricity results from electrons separating from their atoms. The accumulation of an electric charge in one place is known as static electricity. The charge remains stationary and does not move. Static electricity the word static means (something that does not move) is the term for when electricity collects in one location. By rubbing certain items together, you can create static electricity. Go through your hair with a plastic comb. Ensure that your hair is tidy and dried. Your hair’s electrons jump to the comb. The comb nose has an electric charge that is negative. Electrons leave your hair. Your hair now has a positive electric charge as a result. Watch as some of your hair stands on end while you hold the comb above your head. The positive and negative charges are attracting one another, making your hair stand on end.
Dynamic Electricity
Current electricity is another name for dynamic electricity. In this type electric charges are in motion i.e. electric charges move from one point to another point thus producing electric current. Current electricity needs a conductor or material that makes easy for flow of electron. The electricity that produced by any electrical sources in electrical circuit is said to be as current electricity. Hence the electricity that we use in our home is perfect example of current electricity.
Different between static and dynamic electricity
| Static electricity | Dynamic electricity |
| An accumulation of electrons. | The constant flow of electrons between two things or locations it travels over wires from a distance. |
| Until it jumps to an object, it remains stationary. | Requires a conductor, or material that makes it easy for electrons to pass through it. |
| Need no current. | Flow required a closed circuit. |
| The electric charge you experience after pounding your feet across carpet and coming into contact with someone or anything. | The electricity that is used in our homes heating system and applications. |
| It develops both in the conductor and insulator. | It develops only in conductor. |
Application and uses of electricity
Electricity is used to describe the behaviour of electrons and protons. The flow of electrons creates the current we are to power everything from radios to refrigerators. Food water and oxygen are essential to human survival. It is a part of life most of just take for granted We flip a switch or push a button and there la light. We use electricity almost every minute from the time we get up in the morning. All things we depend on each day that need electricity:
In the kitchen: Refrigerators, dishwasher, stoves, etc.
In the family room: Lamps, Air conditioning, computers, etc.
Outdoors: Outdoor lightning, electric lawn mower, pool heater, etc.
Is obvious that there is great importance of electricity in our daily lives. Electricity is used in many aspects of our daily lives, including:
- Working efficiently sour own apartment.
- Working in our office.
- At work, we use electricity to connect to data serves like fiber and LAN.
- The amount of electricity used to supply water to our home.
Uses of Electricity According to Purpose
A wide variety of things can be done with electricity, electrical energy, and application in various fields
Uses of Electricity in Entertainment:
Electricity is required for all contemporary kinds of entertainment, such as viewing TV, listening to music on MP3 devices, and watching movies on DVDs. VCDs, or VCR.
Uses of Electricity in Healthcare:
We observe electricity being used daily to power a variety of modern gadgets, The medical operations cannot begin without electricity. For instance, when performing an operation on a patient, doctors need a strong light. If there is no electricity, the light will not function, and the procedure could be fatal.
Uses of Electricity as Fuel:
Nearly all of the available natural resources can be used to produce electrical energy, which belongs to the category of renewable energy. Automobiles and motorcycles, which previously ran on fossil fuels, are now propelled by electricity (such as solar electrical vehicles), making them more practical in the long run.
Uses of electricity in space:
The satellites and probes that the United States and other nations have launched into space are driven by electricity. The electricity is produced using a generator or batteries. In order to put men on the moon, the Apollo program needed electricity.
Uses of Electricity in Different Fields
Electricity is used in almost every aspect of our lives, and some of the ways we can use it are discussed below
Residential uses:
Numerous household items and appliances require electricity, ranging in complexity from the simplest to the most sophisticated. Along with larger electrical appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, electric heaters, washers, and dryers, small domestic appliances like a coffee maker, dishwasher, and microwave are included. In conclusion, electricity is the source of all of our home’s lighting
Transportation Uses:
The most recent data indicates that the world’s transportation system is totally dependent on the usage of electrical energy, making communication across the world and transit between locations both possible solely because of electricity The general population frequently uses electric vehicles (electric scooters, rickshaw), which take a lot of electricity. Electricity is used to replenish the batteries in autos. The reliant on fuel train systems are replaced by metro systems.
Industrial Uses:
The industrial sector consumes a lot of electricity today. Without electricity, it would have been difficult to operate factories, industrial facilities, manufacturing processes, and a wide range of other operations. Businesses that depend on these plants and industrial units have been reported to suffer considerable financial losses as a result of unexpected power outages.
Atom and its Components
Everything we see around us is made up of tiny little particles called atoms. Atoms are also the smallest unit of an element capable of participating in chemical transformation. It might or might not be able to stay alone. Even more minute components make up the atoms. Protons, electrons, and neutrons are the names for them and known as sub atomic particles. In many aspects, they are very dissimilar from one another. Their “charge” is one way they differ from one another. The charge of protons is positive (+) and the charge on an electron is negative (-). Neutrons are neutral because they are uncharged.
Components of an atom
The “nucleus” of each atom is located in the center Protons and neutrons, two different subatomic particle types, are found in the nucleus. Even tiny particles called electrons orbit the nucleus. Because they have varying quantities of protons, neutrons, and electrons, the 115 various types of atoms are distinct from one another..
Atomic Number, Atomic Weight, Free Electrons and Electric Charge
Atomic Number:
The charge number of an atomic nucleus is the chemical element’s atomic number, also known as nuclear charge number. Z is typically used to represent it. This is equivalent to the proton number (n_{p}) or the number of protons present in the nucleus of each atom of that element, for conventional nuclei. Ordinary chemical elements can be uniquely identified by their atomic number. The atomic number and the number of electrons are both equal in a regular, uncharged atom.
Atomic Weight:
The term “atomic weight” refers to an atom’s overall weight. With the addition of a small amount from the electrons, it is roughly equal to the sum of the protons and neutrons. Unit of atomic weight is a.m.u. (atomic mass unit).
Free Electrons:
Free electrons are those in an atom that are not bound to the nucleus and are thus free to move in response to an external energy source. The free nucleus’s force of attraction. The term “electric current” refers to the movement of free electrons within a substance. Electric current will be transmitted from one location to another by the free electrons in motion
Electrical Charges:
The components of an atom form an electric charge. The terms “positive charge and “negative charge” refer to two different types of electric charge. Positive and negative charges are generated by protons and electrons respectively. Became they have an equal amount of positive and negative charges that cancel one another out, atoms often do not have any overall charge. Protons and neutrons are closely bound together in the nucleus.
Coulomb’s Law
Charles Augustin de Coulomb, a French physicist, published Coulomb’s law. The development of the electromagnetic hypothesis relied heavily on Coulomb’s law. In addition, the forces of attraction and repulsion are the only things that keep our planet from disappearing.
Coulomb’s law states that, “the electrostatic force between any two charged body is directly proportional to the product of the magnitude of these charges sad inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them” Coulomb’s law offers us an idea of the force acting between any two charged body that are separated from one another by a certain distance.
Electric Field, Potential and Potential difference
Electric Field
An electric field is a physical field that surrounds electrically charged particles and acts as an attractor or repellent to all other charged particles in the vicinity. Instead of viewing the electric force as the result of two electric charges coming into contact with each other directly, one charge is thought of as the origin of an electric field that radiates outward into the surrounding space.
Electric Potential
The amount of energy required to convey a unit of electric charge from a reference point to a given place in an electric field is known as the electric potential (also known as the electric field potential, potential drop, or the electrostatic potential). The electric potential at the reference location is, by definition, zero units.
Electric Potential Difference
The charge typically travels from one terminal to another terminals of the potential difference between any two terminals Typically, the charge moves from a terminal with a higher potential to one with a lower potential. There is no charge flow between two terminals when they are both at the same potential difference between any two terminals is 0) The charge from a bigger potential tea lower potential because to the difference in potential between the two points, exerting some effort against the force of attraction between them.
Electric Energy, Voltage and its Unit
Electric Energy
Electric or electrical energy is the energy that results from the charged particles kinetic or electric potential energy. The energy that has been transformed from electric potential energy is how it is generally referred to. Electrical energy is the force that results from the transfer of electrons from one location to another. The basic unit of electrical energy is the joule or watt-second.
Voltage
The electric force known as voltage is what moves the free electrons between atoms. Voltage is a unit of electrical measurement that expresses the different in electrical energy between two circuit components. It is measured in volts and it is denoted by V.