1. WHAT IS ELECTRICITY?

SCIENCE IS A COMPLEX MATTER THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO DISCOVER NEW THINGS AND MADE PEOPLE
TURN IMPOSSIBLE TO POSSIBLE. ONE OF THE GREATEST GIFTS OF SCIENCE TO MANKIND IS ELECTRICITY. OUR
CULTURE HAS PROGRESSED TO THE POINT THAT POWER IS UTILIZED FOR EVERYTHING. SOME SAYS THAT OUR
EXISTENCE WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT ITS DISCOVERY.

WE WILL LEARN ABOUT ELECTRICITY IN THIS STUDY PROJECT. SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS ELECTRICITY?
ELECTRICITY, AS WE ALL KNOW, IS AN ENERGY SOURCE CREATED BY ELECTRONS. THESE ELECTRONS ARE THE
NEGATIVELY CHARGED PARTICLES THAT SURROUND AN ATOM'S NUCLEUS. A PROTON'S SO-CALLED POSITIVE
CHARGE IS EQUAL TO AN ELECTRON'S NEGATIVE CHARGE. SIMILARLY, THE NUMBERS OF PROTONS AND
ELECTRONS ARE GENERALLY IDENTICAL. WHEN THE BALANCING FORCE BETWEEN PROTONS AND ELECTRONS
IS INTERRUPTED BY AN EXTERNAL FORCE, AN ATOM MAY GAIN OR LOSE AN ELECTRON. WHEN ELECTRONS
"DISAPPEAR" FROM AN ATOM, THEIR FREE MOBILITY GENERATES AN ELECTRIC CURRENT.

IN TERMS OF ELECTRICITY, THERE ARE VARIOUS INVENTIONS OR THE SO CALLED WONDERS OF

ELECTRICITY. THE MOST IMPORTANT AND USED OF THEM ARE THE FANS AND LIGHTS WHICH ALL POWERED
BY ELECTRICITY. THESE TWO FACTORS HAVE IMPROVED OUR STANDARD OF LIVING AS WELL AS OUR WORK
EFFICIENCY, ESPECIAL TO OFFICE WORKERS AND STUDENTS. OUR HOMES, STREETS, OFFICES, AND SHOPS ARE
ALL ILLUMINATED. WORKING IN AN OFFICE WITHOUT A LIGHT AND A FAN IS DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE.

1. CLASSES OF ELECTRICITY.

CLASSIFICATION OF ELECTRICITY

EVEN THOUGH THE METHOD OF CREATION OF ELECTRICITY IS OCCASIONALLY USED TO CATEGORIZE IT, THE BEHAVIOR
OF THE MOVING ELECTRONS OR THE CURRENT IS MORE FREQUENTLY USED.

DIRECT CURRENT

A CIRCUIT IS CALLED DIRECT CURRENT (D-C) IF ONE OF ITS COMPONENTS IS ALWAYS POSITIVE COMPARED TO ANOTHER
AND ELECTRON FLOW ALWAYS FLOWS IN THAT DIRECTION. THE FLOW OF CURRENT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE
CONTINUOUS, BUT IT MUST ALWAYS BE IN THE SAME DIRECTION. DIRECT CURRENT IS CLASSIFIED INTO SEVERAL TYPES,
EACH OF WHICH IS DEFINED BY THE AMOUNT OF CURRENT FLOWING RELATIVE TO TIME. A CONSTANT CURRENT HAS
NO AMPLITUDE VARIATIONS THROUGHOUT TIME.

ALTERNATING CURRENT

IN CERTAIN CIRCUITS, THE POLARITY OF ONE POINT IN REFERENCE TO ANOTHER POINT ALTERNATES OR CHANGES
ON A CONTINUOUS BASIS. AS A RESULT, THE ELECTRONS ARE FORCED TO GO BACK AND FORTH, FIRST ONE DIRECTION
AND THEN THE OTHER. THIS TYPE OF CIRCUIT IS KNOWN AS AN ALTERNATING CURRENT (A-C) CIRCUIT. A SINE WAVE IS
THE SIMPLEST FUNDAMENTAL SORT OF ALTERNATING CIRCUIT, IN WHICH THE CURRENT BEGINS AT ZERO, RISES TO A
MAXIMUM IN ONE DIRECTION, FALLS TO ZERO, RISES TO A MAXIMUM IN THE OTHER DIRECTION, AND FINALLY
RETURNS TO ZERO.
 2. TYPES OF ELECTRICITY.

WHAT ARE THE TWO TYPES OF ELECTRICITY ?

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF ELECTRICITY, STATIC ELECTRICITY AND CURRENT ELECTRICITY. STATIC
ELECTRICITY IS MADE BY RUBBING TOGETHER TWO OR MORE OBJECTS AND MAKING FRICTION WHILE
CURRENT ELECTRICITY IS THE FLOW OF ELECTRIC CHARGE ACROSS AN ELECTRICAL FIELD.

STATIC ELECTRICITY

A BUILD-UP OF STATIC ELECTRICITY CAN CREATE OBJECTS TO BE ATTRACTIVE TO EACH OTHER OR MAY
EVEN CAUSE A SPARK TO JUMP FROM ONE TO THE OTHER. FOR EXAMPLE, RUB A BALOON ON A WOOL AND
HOLD IT UP TO THE WALL. STATIC ELECTRICITY IS WHEN ELECTRICAL CHARGES BUILD UP ON THE SURFACE

THE BALLOONS AND THE WOOL SWEATER HAVE A NEUTRAL CHARGE BEFORE RUBBING, LIKE ALL
MATERIALS, THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEY EACH HAVE AN EQUAL NUMBER OF POSITIVELY CHARGED
SUBATOMIC PARTICLES (PROTONS) AND NEGATIVELY CHARGED SUBATOMIC PARTICLES (ELECTRONS).
ELECTRONS ARE TRANSFERR b ED FROM THE WOOL TO THE RUBBER WHEN THE BALLOON IS RUB BY THE
WOOL SWEATER DUE TO DIFFERENCES IN THE ATTRACTION OF THE TWO MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONS. THE
BALLOON BECOMES NEGATIVELY CHARGED BECAUSE IT GAINS ELECTRONS FROM THE WOOL, AND THE WOOL
BECOMES POSITIVE

CURRENT ELECTRICITY

AMONG THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS IN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC SCIENCE IS ELECTRIC
CURRENT, WHICH FORMS THE BASIS OF THE STUDY OF ELECTRICITY.

THE IDEA OF ELECTRICAL CURRENT IS FUNDAMENTAL TO HOW ANYTHING WORKS, WHETHER IT BE AN

ELECTRICAL HEATER, A SIGNIFICANT ELECTRICAL GRID SYSTEM, A MOBILE PHONE, COMPUTER, DISTANT
SENSOR NODE, OR ANYTHING ELSE.

ALTHOUGH CURRENT AS SUCH IS MOSTLY INVISIBLE, ITS EFFECTS ARE ALWAYS AUDIBLE, SEEN, AND FELT,
MAKING IT CHALLENGING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT TRULY IS AT TIMES.

THE TWO PRIMARY TYPES OF ELECTRIC CURRENT ARE DIRECT (DC) AND ALTERNATING (AC) (AC). THE BIG
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO IS THAT DC IS A FLOW OF ENERGY WHILE AC CAN TURN ON AND OFF. AC
REVERSES THE DIRECTION OF THE ELECTRONS. IT'S EASY TO REMEMBER THAT DIRECT CURRENT IS LIKE THE
ENERGY YOU GET FROM A BATTERY. ALTERNATING CURRENT IS LIKE THE PLUGS IN THE WALL.
 3. UNITS OF ELECTRICITY.

THE STANDARD UNIT OF ELECTRICITY IS DEFINED METHODICALLY. THE AMPERE IS DEFINED FIRST.
FOLLOWING THAT, THE AMPERE IS DERIVED FROM THE CHARGE AND COULOMB OF AN ELECTRON.

VOLT (V), OHM (), AND AMPERE (A) ARE THE SI UNITS FOR MEASURING THE ELECTRIC EXPRESSIONS OF
VOLTAGE, RESISTANCE, AND CURRENT, RESPECTIVELY.

THE ELECTRICAL UNITS USED TO MEASURE ELECTRIC EXPRESSIONS ARE BASED ON THE
INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS (SI). THIS SI UNIT OF ELECTRICITY IS THE BASIS FOR ALL OTHER UNITS.

THE UNITS ARE USED TO MEASURE AND CHARACTERIZE THE CAPACITY OF ELECTRIC CIRCUITS,
ELECTRONICS, AND ELECTRIC APPLIANCES RANGING FROM TINY TO HUGE.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE BASIC UNITS OF ELECTRICITY?

VOLTAGE/VOLTS (V) - THE AMOUNT OF WORK REQUIRED TO MOVE AN ELECTRIC CHARGE FROM ONE POINT
TO ANOTHER IS CALLED VOLTAGE.

CURRENT (I)/AMPS (A) - CURRENT IS DEFINED AS THE AMOUNT OF CHARGE (OR ELECTRONS) PASSING
THROUGH A CIRCUIT PER UNIT OF TIME.
RESISTANCE (R) /OHMS (O) - RESISTANCE IS THE OPPOSITION OFFERED TO THE FLOW OF CURRENT IN A
CIRCUIT.

POWER (P)/WATTS (W) - POWER IS DEFINED AS THE PRODUCT OF THE WORK REQUIRED AND THE NUMBER
OF ELECTRONS PASSING THROUGH THE CIRCUIT PER UNIT TIME.

OTHER ELECTRICITY UNITS

JUST LIKE THE STANDARD UNITS, OTHER UNITS ARE USED TO DENOTE THE VALUES AND QUANTITIES. THEY
ARE:

WH – THE WATT-HOUR IS DEFINED AS THE AMOUNT OF ELECTRIC ENERGY CONSUMED BY AN ELECTRIC

CIRCUIT OVER A GIVEN TIME DURATION. FOR EXAMPLE, A NORMAL ELECTRIC BULB CONSUMES 100 WATTS
OF POWER PER HOUR.

DB – A DECIBEL IS A ONE-TENTH UNIT OF BEL (SYMBOL B). IT IS USED TO REPRESENT A GAIN IN VOLTAGE,
POWER OR CURRENT.

Θ – PHASE ANGLE. IT IS THE DIFFERENCE (IN DEGREES) BETWEEN THE VOLTAGE WAVEFORM AND THE
CURRENT WAVEFORM, WHICH HAVE THE SAME TIME PERIOD. IT IS A TIME DIFFERENCE THAT DEPENDS UPON
THE CIRCUIT ELEMENT. ITS VALUE CAN BE “LEADING” OR “LAGGING”. IT IS ALSO MEASURED IN RADIANS.
Ω – ANGULAR FREQUENCY IS USED IN AC CIRCUITS TO REPRESENT PHASE RELATION BETWEEN TWO
WAVEFORMS.

Τ – TIME CONSTANT, THE TIME CONSTANT IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF AN IMPEDANCE CIRCUIT. IT IS THE TIME
TAKEN BY THE OUTPUT TO REACH 63.7% OF ITS MINIMUM OR MAXIMUM VALUE WHEN SUBJECTED TO STEP
RESPONSE INPUT. IT IS A MEASURE OF TIME REACTION.

SI UNIT OF CHARGE
THE SI UNIT OF ELECTRIC CHARGE IS THE COULOMB. A COULOMB IS DEFINED AS AN AMPERE SECOND.

4. BASIC SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY.

THERE ARE SOME ESSENTIAL METHODS THAT WE CAN PRODUCE ELECTRICITY AND HOW WE CAN DO IT!

1. RUBBING
STATIC ELECTRICITY MAY BE GENERATED WHEN ONE OBJECT RUBS AGAINST ANOTHER. THIS IS BECAUSE THE
RUBBING GENERATES A NEGATIVE CHARGE THAT ELECTRONS CARRY. ELECTRONS CAN ACCUMULATE AND
GENERATE STATIC ELECTRICITY.
2. CHEMICAL ACTION

SIMPLY PUT, ELECTRICITY IS A SORT OF ENERGY GENERATED BY THE PASSAGE OF ELECTRONS. ELECTRONS
ARE CREATED IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL BY A CHEMICAL REACTION THAT OCCURS AT ONE ELECTRODE
(MORE ON ELECTRODES BELOW!) AND THEN MOVE TO THE OTHER ELECTRODE WHERE THEY ARE CONSUMED.

3. ACTION OF LIGHT
THE VOLTAGE CREATED BETWEEN THE TWO LAYERS OF A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL INCREASES WITH THE
INTENSITY OF THE SUNLIGHT, BUT HOW DOES A PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WORK?
THE MECHANISM DOES NOT CREATE ENERGY IN THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT; SUNLIGHT PHOTONS INTERACT
WITH ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONS, INCREASING THEIR ENERGY LEVELS.
SOLAR ENERGY IS USED IN THIS WAY TO CREATE POWER.
4. THERMAL HEAT ACTION
THERMOELECTRIC MATERIALS GENERATE POWER DIRECTLY FROM THE HEAT BY CONVERTING TEMPERATURE
DIFFERENCES INTO ELECTRIC VOLTAGE. THESE MATERIALS MUST HAVE BOTH HIGH ELECTRICAL
CONDUCTIVITY (Σ) AND LOW THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY (Κ) TO BE GOOD THERMOELECTRIC MATERIALS.

5. MAGNETISM
MOVING A MAGNET AROUND A COIL OF WIRE, OR A COIL OF WIRE AROUND A MAGNET, CAUSES ELECTRONS
IN THE WIRE TO MOVE, RESULTING IN AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT. KINETIC ENERGY (THE ENERGY OF MOTION)
IS CONVERTED INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY VIA ELECTRICITY GENERATORS.

6. PRESSURE
THE PRESSURE IMPOSED BY SUBSURFACE WATER CURRENTS IS USED IN LARGE SHIPS AS AN ADDITIONAL
ENERGY SOURCE TO THE PRIMARY SYSTEM. DAMS PRODUCE POWER BY DISCHARGING A CONTROLLED FLOW
OF HIGH-PRESSURE WATER VIA A COMPELLED CONDUIT.
WATER POWERS TURBINES, WHICH TURN GENERATORS AND GENERATE AN ELECTRIC CURRENT, WHICH IS
THEN CONVERTED TO ELECTRICITY VIA A VOLTAGE BOOSTER.

7. HYDRAULIC WATER ACTION

MOVING WATER IS USED TO GENERATE HYDROELECTRIC ELECTRICITY. WATER RUNS THROUGH A PIPE,
OR PENSTOCK, IN HYDROPOWER FACILITIES, THEN PUSHES AGAINST AND ROTATES BLADES OF A TURBINE,
SPINNING A GENERATOR TO GENERATE ENERGY.