What is Electricity?

Electricity has become an important part of our daily life. From watching television in the morning to switching on the lights at the night, from the geyser in the washroom to the mixer grinder in the kitchen electricity has made our daily tasks easier and more efficient.

Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. Electricity is a form of energy. Electricity was discovered by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 when he conducted an experiment by using a kite and a key. He flew a kite during a thunderstorm with a key attached to it and got an electric shock. After Franklin’s experiment, many scientists started working on this. Michael Faraday is the father of electricity. He discovered electromagnetic induction, electrolysis and diamagnetism. In 1930 during an archaeological survey, some batteries were found which were of Roman Empire. This states that experiments with electricity were already done before the 17th century.

Electricity is one of the necessities of our daily life. We are dependent on electricity for most of the work. From household to offices to factories and industries electricity is required everywhere. We can’t even imagine a single day without electricity especially in urban areas. Nowadays the world has become very advanced in different technologies but none of them will work if there is no electricity.
Electricity is very important in our day to day life. Because of the electricity, we have proper access to water. No electric device can work without electricity and we are dependent on electrical devices for almost all our work like washing clothes in washing machines, geyser for hot water, a water purifier for clean water, fans for summer, heaters for winters, television for entertainment and the list is very long. Without electrical devices, life will be tough. Work in industries, factories and offices will come to a standstill. Many life-saving devices in hospitals run on electricity. There are even devices to store charge like cells, and batteries which are in turn used in a multitude of other devices such as a wristwatch, clock, toys etc. Electricity plays a crucial role in almost all fields.

An electric circuit is a conductive path for the flow of electricity. It’s like a loop through which current can flow. It requires a source of current and a conductor such as a wire to carry the current. There are two types of electric circuits:

  1. Series circuit: In a series circuit, all the current flows through a single path and to each component. For example, if there’s a circuit and three bulbs are in the series arrangement, the whole current will flow from each of the bulbs and if any of the bulbs are removed then the circuit will be incomplete or will break.
  2. Parallel circuit: in a parallel circuit, there is more than one path. All the current does not flow through every component but only the required current. For example, if there are three bulbs then three branches connected to the same battery will be there with a different circuit for each different bulb. If any of the bulbs are removed, there is no effect on the overall circuit; the remaining two bulbs will receive the divided electricity from the current source and light up.

Electric switch plays an important role in a circuit. The switch is the breaking point of the current. It can connect and disconnect the path of the current.

Summary

  •  Electricity plays an important role in our day to day life. Electricity is required almost everywhere to run several electric devices.
  • Electricity was discovered by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 when he conducted an experiment when he flew a kite with a key attached to it and received a shock. It demonstrates that lightning and electricity is the same.
  • Michael Faraday is the father of electricity and he is responsible for discovering electromagnetic induction, electrolysis and diamagnetism.
  • Electrical devices make our daily tasks very easy like washing machine, fans, heater, mobile phones, laptop etc.
  • An electric circuit is a conductive path through which current flows. It includes a conductor such as wire and a source of current. There are two types of the circuit – series circuit and parallel circuit.
  • Switch plays an important role in a circuit. It’s a breakpoint in the circuit and can connect and disconnect the path of the current.

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