• Electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a fundamental quantity in nature resulting from the behavior of two basic electrical charges: electrons and protons. It is derived from the modern Latin word electricus meaning “like amber”.

Portrait of William Gilbert

William Gilbert, known to many as the father of electrical engineering first thought that electricity is a force of attraction when he recognized that friction with amber would cause an attraction of objects to itself. He did not however realized that this force is universal to all materials. He also invented the first electrical measuring instrument, called the electroscope.

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin

In 1746, Benjamin Franklin started exploring the nature of electricity. He was the first to propose that electricity consists of charges: the positive (less electron particles) and negative (more electron particles). He also stated that electricity consists of forces of attraction and repulsion.

Two Types of Electricity

There are two types of electricity: static and dynamic.

Static Electricity

Electrons jump through a fixed discrete path

Static electricity is an accumulation of charge and has a discrete fixed path. It is produced by friction and when the electrical charges are stationary or at rest. The electricity is said to be vitreous (made of glass) or positive when a silk is rubbed on a glass rod. Meanwhile, electricity is said to be resinous (made of amber) or negative when a fur is rubbed on a rubber, amber or plastic rod.

The high concentration of electrons from the cloud are transferred through lightning.

An example of static electricity is lightning. The higher concentration of negatively charged particles in the clouds produce free electrons that turn into huge static electric sparks that ‘jump’ from cloud-to-cloud or from cloud to earth.

Dynamic Electricity

Electrons flow through a continuous path

Dynamic electricity is the electricity produced when the electric charges are moving or flowing from one atom to another through a continuous path such as a conductor. In other words, this movement of free electrons known as drift constitutes an electric current.

Electrically Neutral Atom vs Electrically Unbalanced Atom

All atoms consists of different numbers of protons, neutrons and electrons. The protons have positive electrical charges and neutrons with no electrical charge are all contained within the nucleus. Electrons, on the other hand, have negatively charged particles and lie outside the nucleus.

An electrically neutral atom is said to have an equal number of protons and electrons and is said to be balanced, as they cancel each other out. It mostly occurs when there is no presence of heat.

An electrically neutral atom with equal number of electrons, protons and neutrons.

All particles in an atom are bound together by a powerful force. Electrons lie in what so called “shells” and are arranged at different distances from the nucleus. Electrons that are farthest are less attracted to their nucleus than those who are nearer. The outermost shell is called the valence band where electrons can be dislodged. When atoms lose or gain an electron, they will have a net electric charge and thus, be called an ion. Anion is a negative ion and Cation is a positive ion. The electrons that can move from one atom to another are called free or loose electrons.