Electricity by Lindsey (10)

There are two types of electricity: Static and Current. Electricity can get very confusing, so I'll start from the beginning.

Atoms are particles that makes up all matter. They are extremely tiny. So tiny, in fact, that scientists have never been able to see them. The only proof they exist comes from the power of radiology. Anyway, a atom has a nucleus and electrons. In the nucleus, there are two different parts, protons and neutrons. Electrons are negative, protons are positive, and neutrons are neutral. When an atom is in its natural form, it is neutrally charged, meaning it has the same number of electrons as protons. However, to create electricity the atom has to be charged, either negative or positively. For this to happen the electrons have to move to a different atom. (Protons and neutrons cannot move.) When an atom is charged it is called a ion (pronounce i on). Ions are the force that give us electricity.

As I said earlier, there are two types of electricity: statice and current, but now I explain what they are.

Static electricity is the force that makes socks stick and lightning flash. Static electricity is the build up of ions in a certain area. For example, if you rub a balloon on your head, and then pull it up, your hair will probably start jumping up to the balloon. This is because you have knocked off electrons from the balloon to your hair, or vice versa. This proves that opposites attract. Lightning is formed when the snow going down and the humidity going up knocks against each other and throws electrons around. The ions form in the cloud, and lightning occurs. The reason lightning lights and heats up is because air is an insulator, and creates friction, which causes heat and light (that's how the light bulb works).

The other type of electricity, current electricity is the electricity that we use that most. It usually comes from a power plant or a battery, but can come from other sources too, such as a generator. Current electricity is the flow of electrons through a conductor. For example, if you hook some batteries to a wire to a load (something that uses electricity to work, such as a lightbulb) to a wire to the other of the batteries. The light bulb lights up. Why? Well, the batteries combine chemicals to create a flow of electrons. The wire allows the electrons to flow through them, and then the lightbulb uses the flow of the electrons to generate light and heat.

Well, that's all. Thank you for reading this essay. I hope you enjoyed it, and even better learned from it. Thanks.