Electricity is one of the most important blessings that science has given to

mankind. It has also become a part of modern life and one cannot think of a
world without it. Electricity has many uses in our day to day life.
There were several people who conducted intensive study in Electricity.
Benjamin Franklin conducted extensive research on electricity in the 18th
century, as documented by Joseph Priestley (1767) History and Present
Status of Electricity, with whom Franklin carried on extended correspondence.

https://www.history.com/news/11-surprising-facts-about-benjamin-franklin (Links to an external site.)

Michael Faraday was an English scientist who contributed to the study of
electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the
principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and
electrolysis.
Although Faraday received little formal education, he was one of the most
influential scientists in history. It was by his research on the magnetic field
around a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday established the
basis for the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Faraday (Links to an external site.)

So what is Electricity?? Here's the introductory view about it.
Let's Get Charged! Let's get to know Electricity

Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence

and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is
related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of
electromagnetism, as described by Maxwell's equations. Various common
phenomena are related to electricity, including lightning, static electricity,
electric heating, electric discharges and many others.
The presence of an electric charge, which can be either positive or negative,
produces an electric field. The movement of electric charges is an electric
current and produces a magnetic field.
When a charge is placed in a location with a non-zero electric field, a force will
act on it. The magnitude of this force is given by Coulomb's law. Thus, if that
charge were to move, the electric field would be doing work on the electric
charge. Thus we can speak of electric potential at a certain point in space,
which is equal to the work done by an external agent in carrying a unit of
positive charge from an arbitrarily chosen reference point to that point without
any acceleration and is typically measured in volts.
Electricity is at the heart of many modern technologies, being used for:


 Electric power where electric current is used to energize equipment;
 Electronics which deals with electrical circuits that involve active
electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and
integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection
technologies.

Fundamentals of Electricity
Atoms are the basic units of matter and the defining structure of elements.
The term "atom" comes from the Greek word for indivisible, because it was
once thought that atoms were the smallest things in the universe and could
not be divided. We now know that atoms are made up of three particles:
protons, neutrons and electrons — which are composed of even smaller
particles, such as quarks.
 http://themontessoriplace.org.uk/2016/uc-berkeley-chem-101-atomic-structure/ (Links to
an external site.)
Protons are positively charged particles found within atomic nuclei.
Rutherford discovered them in experiments with cathode-ray tubes that were
conducted between 1911 and 1919. Protons are about 99.86% as massive as
neutrons.
Electrons are tiny compared to protons and neutrons, over 1,800 times
smaller than either a proton or a neutron. Electrons are about 0.054% as
massive as neutrons, according to Jefferson Lab.
Neutrons are uncharged particles found within all atomic nuclei (except for
hydrogen). A neutron's mass is slightly larger than that of a proton.
Current
The flow of free electrons in the same general direction from atom to atom is
referred to as current and it is measured in amperes (“amps” or “A”).
When we look at the flow of electricity, we need to look at its characteristics.
There are three main characteristics of electricity
There are two different theories about this:
Conventional Flow


 This theory states that electrons flow from positive to negative.
 Benjamin Franklin theorized this when very little was known about
electricity. It states that an invisible fluid known as electricity tended to
flow through a wire from the positive to the negative.

(Links to an external site.)

Electron Flow


 This theory states that electrons flow from negative to positive.
 When more was known about the behavior of electrons, scientists
discovered that electrons actually flow from negative to positive.
https://www.tutapoint.com/knowledge-center/view/coventional-flow-vs-eletron-flow (Links to
an external site.)
Voltage
Voltage is the force that is applied to a conductor to free electrons, which
causes electrical current to flow. It is measured in volts or “V”. Current will flow
in a conductor as long as voltage, the electrical pressure, is applied to the
conductor
There are two methods that voltage forces current to flow:

https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/alternating-current/chpt-1/what-is-alternating-current-ac/ (Links to an
external site.)
Direct Current - The voltage forces the electrons to flow continuously in one
direction through a closed circuit. This type of voltage is called Direct Current
(DC) voltage. Batteries and DC generators produce DC voltage.
Alternating Current - Voltage forces electrons to flow first in one direction,
then in the opposite direction, alternating very quickly.
Resistance
The restriction to the flow of electrons through a conductor is called resistance
and it is measured in ohms and abbreviated “W”, the Greek symbol Omega.
In general, there are four factors that affect the amount of resistance in a
conductor:
Materials - Rubber, glass and porcelain are considered good insulators.
(Conductors - materials or substances which allow electricity to flow through
it. While Insulator, any of various substances that block or retard the flow of
electrical or thermal currents.)
Length: The longer the conductor, the more resistance in the conductor.
Cross-Sectional Area - As the cross-sectional area of a conductor increases,
the resistance decreases, and vice versa.
Temperature - A cooler wire has less resistance than a warmer wire. Cooler
particles have less kinetic energy, so they move more slowly. Therefore, they
are less likely to collide with moving electrons in current.
Electric Circuit – defined as a complete conducting path that carries current
from a source of electricity to and through some electrical device (or load) and
back to the source.
There are two Arrangements of Electric Circuits:

Electric Current
Electric Current is defined as the rate at which charge flows through a surface
(the cross section of a wire.
The unit of electric power is the Watt (W). A larger unit of 1000 watts is the
kilowatt (kw). The power input in watts to any electrical device having a
resistance R and in which the current is I is given by the equation:
Wattage W = 12R or W = I (IR
Ohm’s Law
Ohm's Law is the fundamental equation for electricity and governs the vast
majority of electrical work that we do.
It was named after Georg Ohm, a German physicist who published a treatise
in 1827.
In it, he explained measurements of applied voltage and current by using a
simple electrical circuit made with varying lengths of wire.
The law states that electrical current in a circuit or conductor will always be
proportionate to the voltage across the conductor or circuit, and inversely
proportional to the total resistance.

V (voltage) = I (current) x R (resistance)

Let’s do an example; we are installing a 120V light bulb with a resistance of

100Ω (Ohms). If we move the formula around, we find that:
I=V/R
therefore, 120V / 100 Ω= 1.2A

SUMMARY
 Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of
matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both
being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism.
 Key people who conducted intensive study in Electricity: Benjamin Franklin, Michael
Faraday.
 Electricity is being used for: Electric Power and Electronics.
 Atoms are the basic units of matter and the defining structure of elements.
 Atoms consist of three basic particles: protons, electrons, and neutrons.
 Current - The flow of free electrons in the same general direction from atom to atom and
it is measured in amperes .(A).
 Two theories about this: Conventional Flow and Electron Flow.
 Voltage - The force that is applied to a conductor to free electrons, which causes
electrical current to flow. It is measured in volts or “V”.
 Two methods that voltage forces current to flow: Direct Current and Alternating
Current
 Resistance - The restriction to the flow of electrons through a conductor is called
resistance and it is measured in ohms and abbreviated “W”, the Greek symbol Omega.
 Four factors that affect the amount of resistance in a
conductor: Materials, Length, Cross-Sectional Area and Temperature.
 Electric Circuit - Defined as a complete conducting path that carries current from a
source of electricity to and through some electrical device (or load) and back to the
source.
 There are two Arrangements of Electric Circuits: Parallel and Series Circuits
 Electric Current - Defined as the rate at which charge flows through a surface (the cross
section of a wire. The unit of electric power is the Watt (W).
 Ohm’s Law - The fundamental equation for electricity and governs the vast majority of
electrical work that we do.