The collection of natural events connected to the existence and movement of electric charges is known as electricity. This kind of energy is created by the movement or flow of electrons. An electrical charge or voltage is produced by the motion of electrons, which releases energy.
Types of Electrical Energy
There are two types of electrical energy:
1. The electricity that does not move is referred to as static electricity.
2. A movement of electricity through a conductive medium, such as copper wire, is known as mobile electricity or dynamic electricity.
Static Electricity
Materials that are not conductive can generate static electricity. Because no current can flow, the induced electric charge is at rest and does not move (it is in a non-conductive material).
A static electric potential can be produced between the components of an insulating structure as a result of an uneven interaction between electrons and protons. It may also happen between the body and a different element carrying a different weight.
Positive and negative charges, but not neutral charges, can be applied to a statically charged object. Magnetism is absent in electrostatics because there is no current flow. Charges can be exerted by charged things. Unevenly charged objects attract one another, whereas equally charged objects repel one another. A conductor may be affected by a statically charged object.
Static electricity is discharged to bring about balance. Both swiftly and slowly can occur with this discharge. We could experience a small electric shock when we touch anything electrified. The sound of the air heating up and expanding after the spark has released electrical energy is the crackling that we hear.
Insulators exhibit the phenomenon of static electricity. A rubber balloon and a plastic scale become electrically charged when they are brushed against one another, making them both insulators. One loses some electrons, while another acquires some. This is interpreted as the scale acquiring the power to attract small pieces of paper while the balloon gains the ability to attach to a wall. Losing electrons makes a substance positively charged while gaining electrons makes a substance negatively charged. These charges remain on the substance’s surface and are stationary. Static electricity is the name given to this phenomenon since there is no electron flow.
Mobile or Dynamic Electricity
On the other hand, dynamic electricity—the kind we are familiar with—is produced when electrons are liberated from a substance and forced to flow in a material. Direct current (DC) is the term used to describe a current produced when electrons move in a single direction (for example, the current produced in the battery of your car). A constant change in the direction of electrons from positive to negative is what is known as an alternating current (AC). This type of electricity is the one that powers all the appliances in our houses.
Its adoption marked an important turning point in the development of electricity. The invention of electricity served as the catalyst for the second industrial revolution.
Final Thoughts
We all have a basic understanding of electricity because we often use lights, fans, air conditioners, refrigerators, and numerous other equipment. It is a specific type of energy that has the power to operate the equipment. Although humans cannot see electricity, its effects can be felt, heard, and smelled (as when we get a shock). The electron theory makes it simple to understand how electricity works.
