how does

work?

Electricity for your house comes from a big power station where there is a huge peice of machinery called a

Inside the generator is an

which is a iron core with wires that curl around it but do not touch it. In a circle around the magnet but also not touching it are other coils of wire.

Power, usually from steam or falling water, makes the electro magnet whirl rapidly inside the coil. And this produces

electric current in the outer circle of wire.

The current flows into cables that run sometimes underground and sometimes high up on poles. They carry current everywhere it is needed.

A cable brings it into your house. When you flip a

or turn on your television set, you bring the electrical current into your room.

work?

This book on electricity was designed by Emily Luken, a junior in the Communication Design program at Washington University in St. Louis. It was created for a course focusing on the interplay of word and image. The book was printed on an Xerox Color 550 printer. Emily used the typefaces DIN and United Sans Semi Condensed in the design of this book. Emily is a huge fan of electricity, as it makes wonderful things like toasters, the internet, and Adobe Illustrator possible.