Preview

Electricity in Our Lives

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3782 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Electricity in Our Lives
UNIVERSITY „VALAHIA” OF TÂRGOVIŞTE FACULTY OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
ELECTRONIC AND TELECOMMUNICATION DOMAINE

PAPER FOR THE ENGLISH COURSE
“Electricity in our lives”

Made by Student Pană Nicolae Alexandru 2nd year, group nr. 2

TÂRGOVIŞTE
2010

List of contents

1. Introduction 3
2. Short History 3
3. Definition 4
4. Electricity sources 4
5. Current Electricity 7
6. Electromagnetism 8
7. Uses of electricity 9
8. Generating Stations 10

1. Introduction

Electricity means all the phenomena that result from the interaction of electrical charges. Electric and magnetic effects are caused by the relative positions and movements of charged particles of matter. When a charge is stationary (static), it produces electrostatic forces on charged objects, and when it is in motion it produces additional magnetic effects. So far as electrical effects are concerned, objects can be electrically neutral, positively charged, or negatively charged. Positively charged particles, such as the protons that are found in the nucleus of atoms, repel one another. Negatively charged particles, such as the electrons that are found in the outer parts of atoms, also repel one another (see Atom). Negative and positive particles, however, attract each other. This behavior may be summed up as: like charges repel, and unlike charges attract.
[pic]

Lightning
Charges between clouds or between a cloud and the ground produce atmospheric electrical discharges—lightning. The flow of electricity from one discharge point to another also produces a sound wave heard as thunder.

2. Short History

Before the concept of electricity appeared people were aware of it by shocks from an electric fish called "Thunderer of the Nile". Similar reports appeared a few thousand years later, in the works of ancient Greek, Roman and Arabic naturalists and physicians.



Bibliography: 1. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power 4. http://www.poweredgenerators.com/portable-generator.html

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The invention of electricity has benefited mankind in several aspects of life ever since the 1800s. Over the course of the past two centuries, scientists have been developing theories that serve as the backbone for various devices today. Such intellectuals have been attempting to understand the credibility and applicability of the already existent theories, such as electricity and magnetism. In addition, they have introduced new concepts by either creating them from scratch, or combining other theories. Electricity, for instance, is a form of energy fueled by the movement of charged particles, called electrons. It is an electrical current if these electrons flow from high to low voltage. If the charged…

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Science of the Spud

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Fast-forward to 1729 when, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, another scientifically-minded Englishman, Stephen Gray, discovered that electricity could flow. Before he decided to moisten corks in glass…

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lightning Rods

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “The electrical fire would, I think, be drawn out of a cloud silently, before it could come near enough to strike…” said Benjamin Franklin.3 Contrary to popular belief, a lightning rod does not attract lightning. The lightning rod provides a path towards the ground to conduct massive electrical currents when lightning does occur. The pointed metal rod, usually attached to the roof of a building, could be an inch in diameter and connected to a large piece of copper or an aluminum alloy, also an inch in diameter.1…

    • 468 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sprite Research Papers

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In this instance a negative charge is carried from the cloud to the ground, in fact 9 out of 10 strikes have negative charges; as such there is only a 10% chance to sprites to appear. However, when they do appear the electric field above the cloud is able to produce a sprite which would be an electrical discharge approximately 80 km above the thunderstorm. (Dunbar, 2012).Sprites starts up in the mesosphere, a layer of the earth’s atmosphere directly above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere extending from 50 to 85 km above our planet (“The Mesosphere”, 2016), and extend upwards towards the edge of the ionosphere. The ionosphere is considered an extension of the thermosphere; it is not another atmospheric layer. It represents less than 0.1% of the total mass of the Earth's atmosphere. The upper atmosphere is ionized by solar radiation meaning that the Sun’s energy is strong enough that it breaks apart molecules (“The Ionosphere”, 2016). Sprites are the result of extremely powerful, lightning discharges that sometimes occur within thunderstorms, but they only occur from thunderstorms. They are triggered by powerful…

    • 1486 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Electricity Report

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Electricity was first researched by Thales of Miletos around 600BC. He conducted a few experiments on static electricity in which he believed that friction made amber become magnetized. Other than the fact that people knew that eels produced electric shocks, electricity was little more than an intellectual curiosity for over 2000 years. Until 1600 when someone from England discovered the lodestone effect when amber with static would attract small objects towards it. In the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin did much research on electricity and sold his possessions to fund his research. He was said to have tied a key to a damp string attached to a kite and flew it into an electrical storm. He watched as sparks jumped from the key to the back of his hand discovering that lightning was electrical.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Electricity and magnetism are two different aspects of one force. This force is called the electromagnetic force. Electricity can be generated by rotating coils of wire in the vicinity of a magnet. When a force moves objects toward and away from each other it is called electricity. When it comes to magnets, Earth and other planets behave like giant magnets. The first know magnets were iron materials. If one piece of the iron was placed in contact with the other, it attracted it. In ancient times men knew of a special kind of rock that could pull other rocks of the same kind and pieces of iron toward itself. Such rocks were called lodestones. In modern times man uses the same force exerted by the ancient lodestones to generate electric power, to store information in computers, and to study the secrets of the universe. The force is called magnetism, and objects that exert it are known as…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Secret of Magnetism

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Also, during the 1820's, the French physicist Andre' Marie Ampere declared that electric currents produce all magnetism. He concluded that a permanent bar magnet has tiny currents flowing in it. The work Oersted and Ampere did led to the…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lightning

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lightning is a massive electrostatic discharge caused by unbalanced electric charges in the atmosphere, and resulting in a strike, from a cloud to itself, a cloud to a cloud or a cloud to ground, and accompanied by the loud sound of thunder. A typical cloud to ground lightning strike jumps a 5 km (3 mi) gap through the air.[1] A typical thunderstorm has three or more strikes per minute at its peak.[2]…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    People knew about electricity for a long time. Ancient Greeks noticed that if they rubbed a piece of amber, feathers would stick to it. You’ve experienced a similar thing if you’ve ever had your hair stick up straight after you combed it, or had your socks stick together when you removed them from the drier. This is called static electricity, but back then nobody knew how to explain it or what to do with it.…

    • 1816 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Weather

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1. How is lightning formed? Cumulonimbus clouds must become electrically charged therefore, in most rain clouds the bottom of the rain cloud is negatively charged and the top is positively charged. Lightning is created as a discharge of built up energy due to the separation of positive and negative charges which are generated inside the thunderstorm.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    because you can’t see it – all you can do is see the effects of it…

    • 24893 Words
    • 139 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Static Electricity

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages

    • An electrostatic field is a phenomenon that is very similar to a magnetic field. When an object is electrically charged, it creates an electrostatic field. If an object has an excess of electrons, then it's considered to have a negative charge. If an object has fewer electrons than its surrounding environment, though, it's considered to be positively charged. Just like with magnetic fields, two objects that are oppositely charged will attract each other. This scientific truth is the core of electrostating painting, which uses electrostatic fields to paint metal objects quickly, efficiently and with practically no cleanup.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Electric current is the flow of electric charge. Some materials become electrically charged when rubbed together. A substance that gains electrons becomes negatively charged, while a substance that loses electrons becomes positively charged. Charges that are the same (positive and positive or negative and negative) repel, while unlike charges (positive and negative) attract. Charged objects are able to attract small-uncharged objects toward them, such as pieces of paper. Electrical charge can be created by rubbing things together or touching them to other objects with greater charge than their own.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Electricity

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An electric current is a flow of electrical charge. When a metal conducts electricity, the charge is carried by electrons moving through the metal. Electrons are subatomic particles with a negative electrical charge. When a solution conducts electricity, the charge is carried by ions moving through the solution. Ions are atoms or small groups of atoms that have an electrical charge. Some ions have a negative charge and some have a positive charge.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Electricity is a fundamental component of nature consisting of negative and positive particles exhibiting attractions and repulsions. These attractions and repulsions create charged particles that then become electrical current. This is an important form of energy that is critical to the functioning of the human body.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics