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Key points about electricity

  • Electricity is the presence or flow of .
  • An electric current is the flow of around a .
  • Static electricity is the build up of electrons on an .

Did you know?

  • Electricity travels at the speed of light - about 300,000 kilometres per second.
  • Electricity was first discovered in 600BC - the Ancient Greeks discovered static electricity.
  • Electric cars date back as far as 1832.
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How does electricity power a car?

Video

A case study video explaining how electricity is used to power a car.

How is an electric car powered?

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How is electricity used?

Everything is made up of tiny particles. These particles may have positive or negative charges. Electricity is the presence or flow of these charged particles.

All materials contain negatively-charged particles called electrons. In metals the electrons are free to move, which means they are good of electricity. If there is a complete circuit a battery can push electrons all around the circuit. This is an electric current. We use electric currents to control and operate devices, including phones, computers and light bulbs.

Some materials do not conduct electricity 鈥 they are insulators. Most non-metal materials such as plastic, wood and rubber are insulators.

Imagine rubbing a balloon on your jumper. The balloon and jumper are each made of different insulating materials. As you rub, electrons move from the jumper to the balloon, so negative charge builds up on the balloon and causes . If you touch the balloon, you may feel an as the charge travels through you to the ground.

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Test your knowledge

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Play the Atomic Labs game! game

Try out practical experiments in this KS3 science game.

Play the Atomic Labs game!
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More on Electricity

Find out more by working through a topic