00:00Electricity!
00:08Have you ever wondered what electricity is and where it comes from?
00:13In this video, we are going to talk about electricity found in nature, called lightning,
00:18and man-made electricity like batteries, power plants, and more.
00:26Electricity found in nature is called lightning.
00:30Lightning is an electric current and is super hot, even hotter than the surface of the sun!
00:37Lightning occurs when small bits of ice bump into each other as they move around in a cloud
00:42together and create an electric charge.
00:45When the cloud fills up with these charges, it interacts with the opposite charges on
00:50the ground, kind of like the positive and negative sides of a battery.
00:55Lightning strikes, and you have an electric current!
01:00Electricity is all around us.
01:03Think about a day in your life and all the things you use electricity for.
01:08Would you be okay living without these things?
01:12But what exactly is electricity and how does it work?
01:16Are you ready for an introduction to electricity?
01:21Electricity is created when electrons move from one atom to another.
01:26When the electrons are moving, they produce something called an electric current.
01:32There are two types of electric currents, direct current and alternating current.
01:39Direct current is the power that comes from batteries, fuel cells, and solar cells.
01:47Batteries have a plus and minus sign on them.
01:50The plus sign stands for positive and the minus sign stands for negative.
01:56The electric current in the batteries always flows in the same direction and in a loop
02:01from the positive to the negative side.
02:04Batteries power things like game controllers, flashlights, phones, even the TV remote we
02:12fight over.
02:14Fuel cells also work like batteries, except they don't need to be recharged.
02:20Fuel cells take chemicals like hydrogen and oxygen and put them together.
02:25When the two chemicals react to each other or have a chemical reaction, electricity is
02:31created.
02:34Fuel cells can provide power for something as big as a utility power station to something
02:41as small as a laptop computer.
02:45There are even hydrogen-powered vehicles that use fuel cells.
02:49Some of these vehicles include forklifts, cars, boats, and buses.
02:58Have you seen solar cells on the roofs of various homes and buildings?
03:03Maybe you even have some on your own home.
03:06They look like black rectangles made of glass.
03:10The materials inside the boxes release electrons when light shines on them, which then creates
03:15an electric current.
03:18Can you guess where the light comes from that shines on these boxes?
03:23If you said the sun, you're absolutely right.
03:27Solar cells use the light from the sun to make electricity.
03:32There are some important words that have to do with electricity.
03:37These words are watts, or how much power a light is using, voltage, how much power is
03:47available for the light to use, and amps, how fast the electrons are traveling to the
03:55light bulb.
03:57Shorter, longer, thicker, and thinner wires also affect how electricity travels.
04:06Shorter and thicker wires allow for better flow of electrons than thinner and longer
04:11wires.
04:14Now let's learn about alternating current.
04:18Alternating current is an electric current that reverses directions many times a second.
04:25This power comes from power plants.
04:28The electricity travels through the power lines that you see along roadways and open
04:34fields.
04:35The electrons travel in a big loop from a power plant to the wires that are hooked up
04:41to your house, and then back to the power plant again.
04:47When you turn on a light in your home or plug something into an electrical outlet, the power
04:53flows from the power plant, but before it enters your home, it passes through something
05:00called a transformer.
05:03Nope, not that kind of transformer.
05:07That would be really cool, though.
05:10Transformers are attached to the utility box or power poles near your home.
05:15The electric current flows from the transformer to the circuit breaker or fuse box in your
05:21home.
05:22That fuse box then routes the electric current to each of your outlets and switches.
05:29The transformer's job is to make sure that the right amount of power is going to your
05:34home.
05:35This is a very important job.
05:38If too much electric current flows all at once, it could blow a circuit and cause all
05:44the appliances in your home to stop working.
05:48And if too little current flows, it won't be enough to power all of your appliances.
05:55Power plants all over the country use different kinds of fuel to produce electricity.
06:02Thermal power plants use coal, biomass, petroleum, or natural gas to heat water into steam.
06:13That steam then powers a generator which produces electricity.
06:18Isn't that amazing that hot water can produce electricity?
06:26Nuclear power plants use fission, which means splitting atoms.
06:31Splitting the atoms creates energy, which produces heat, which also creates steam.
06:38Geothermal power plants use the heat located inside the earth to create the steam.
06:45And hydropower plants use wind and moving water to create the steam.
06:53Electricity can also be produced by magnets.
06:57Can you guess why?
07:00You already know that electricity is created when electrons move from one atom to another.
07:06But did you know that a magnetic field can move electrons?
07:12Power plants use giant magnets to create electricity in a generator.
07:18The generator has a coil of copper wire inside the magnets.
07:24The steam makes the generator spin, causing the electrons in the copper wire to flow through the power lines.
07:33Another type of electricity you are probably familiar with is called static electricity.
07:41Have you ever been shocked when you touched a doorknob after walking in socks across the carpet?
07:47That's static electricity.
07:50It happens when electrons move from one place to another, like from your hand to the doorknob.
07:59Electrons can move more easily in some objects than in others.
08:04And when certain materials rub against each other, like your socks and the carpet, they transfer electrons.
08:13Another example of static electricity is when a balloon is rubbed on your hair.
08:19You might have tried this trick before. It's fun.
08:23The balloon picks up extra electrons, which then attract your hair to the balloon.
08:29This causes a literal hair-raising experience.
08:36The name for any material or substance that allows electricity to flow through it is called a conductor.
08:43Conductors include metals, like steel, copper, iron, gold, and silver.
08:51But water, animals, trees, and even people can be conductors too.
08:59That's why you should stay inside during a lightning storm.
09:03You do not want an electric current flowing through you.
09:08Insulators, on the other hand, are the opposite of conductors.
09:14So, if conductors allow electricity to flow, then, what do you think insulators do?
09:22They block or prevent the flow of electricity.
09:26Examples of insulators include plastic, glass, porcelain, and rubber.
09:34Most electrical wires are covered in a plastic or rubber coating.
09:39Can you guess why?
09:44What do you think might happen if you touched a wire that wasn't wrapped in an insulator?
09:50If you said you could get shocked, you're absolutely right.
09:54It's important to never touch any wires that you see.
09:59You never know if they are alive, which means that electric current is flowing through them.
10:06The plastic or rubber is used as insulators to prevent the electricity from traveling
10:11into other objects, like yourself.
10:15So, where did electricity come from?
10:22Electricity wasn't invented by anyone.
10:25It's a form of energy that occurs naturally.
10:29However, it is believed that the ancient Greeks first discovered static electricity in 600 B.C.
10:38And, in the 1930s, archaeologists discovered ancient batteries that may have been used
10:45at Roman sites.
10:49I wonder if those would power my controller?
10:53People have been doing experiments with electricity for years.
10:58You may have seen images of Benjamin Franklin, who was one of America's founding fathers,
11:04experimenting with electricity.
11:07A kite, a key, and a storm.
11:11Benjamin Franklin proved there was a connection between lightning and electricity.
11:18He was a pretty smart guy.
11:21There is much more to be learned about electricity.
11:25But what we do know is that without it, life would be much different for many people.
11:32Now that you know more about electricity, see if you can figure out these riddles.
11:37A group of birds are sitting on the power lines near your home, but none of them get shocked.
11:43Why?
11:48If you said, it's because those wires are wrapped in an insulator, you're correct!
11:54Insulators, like plastic and rubber, prevent the flow of electricity.
11:59But even though they are wrapped, those wires still aren't safe to touch.
12:04If you ever see one down on the ground, don't touch it, and get a grown-up!
12:10Ready for another riddle?
12:13I am incredibly hot, hotter even than the surface of the sun.
12:18I come from the sky, and when I connect with the ground, I make a big zap.
12:25I have electric current, but I am not used to power your electronics.
12:31What am I?
12:35Did you guess lightning?
12:37Well done!
12:39Remember, electric current in nature is called lightning, and the electric current in our
12:44homes is produced by power plants, solar panels, batteries, and more.
12:51Here's your last riddle.
12:55When you put our positive and negative sides together, we stick.
13:01But if you flip one of us over, we push each other away.
13:05We are used to generate electricity and power plants, but also stick pictures of you to
13:11your fridge.
13:13What are we?
13:18I bet you said magnets!
13:21Well done!
13:23Now that you are an expert about electricity, share some of these fun facts with your family
13:28and friends.
13:29Isn't electricity fascinating?
13:34Hope you had fun learning with us.
13:36Visit us at LearnBright.org.
13:40For thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.
