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What is electricity?

Electricity isn’t made of anything that you can see or would recognise. It is a form of energy.

When we move, we use a different type of energy. However, you can use this energy to produce electricity.For example, when you are riding a bike you can use the energy to push the pedals to power the lights.

It isn’t just human energy that you can use to produce electricity. You can use loads of things - the wind, the sun and burning fuel just to name a few.

We get electricity by simply changing other forms of energy into it.

Types of electricity

There are two types of electricity.

Static electricity is when electricity gathers in one place.

For example, if you rub your feet on a carpet you can sometimes 'zap' something when you touch it. This is static electricity that you have built up on the surface of your skin. Lightning is also a powerful form of static electricity.

Current electricity is when electricity moves from one place to another place.

Examples of current electricity include starting a motorbike, turning on a light, watching TV and playing video games.

A world without electricity

We need energy in our homes to power TV’s, cookers, fridges, lights, phone chargers and so on.

We use a lot of electricity! But it was only invented 140 years ago. Before that, we didn’t have electricity in our houses at all. The electrical appliances we have today simply did not exist back then.

People used fires to keep warm and to cook. They also used lamps to create light. These lamps burnt fuel such as wax in a candle, or oil in an oil lamp.

It is strange to think of a world without electricity.

Imagine cooking over an open fire, and using the heat from the fire to boil water to make a cup of tea.

Imagine bakeries full of workers kneading the dough because they didn’t have the big machines we have today.

Because they didn’t have all our electrical gadgets, families had to create their own entertainment. They read books, talked, sewed or sang to pass the time.

What would your family be like if there was no electricity?

Electrical safety at home

Electricity can be very dangerous. We need to make sure that we use appliances responsibly and safely.

Electricity comes out of a socket, but you can only put certain things into a socket.

Electricity likes running through a lot of different materials because it is always trying to get to the ground as fast as possible. So, it travels through substances like metal, water and wood.

Electricity can even travel through you too! That’s why you need to be careful around sockets and electricity in general.

Don’t worry, most appliances you use on a daily basis have lots of safety checks before being sent to the shops.

Remember to never ever put metal objects near sources of electricity like sockets and toasters. Don’t put too many plugs into one outlet - there’s a reason why each outlet has only two sockets.

If you aren’t sure about what to do always ask an adult. Never take chances with the power of electricity!