ELECTRICITY

What is static electricity?

Static electricity refers to electrical charge that builds up on a surface and does not flow away.

What is an electrostatic series?

A chart that shows how strongly different materials hold on to electrons, determining which material will become positively or negatively charged.

What is an electrical ground? Why is it important?

Something that removes a build-up of charge; it is important to prevent electric shocks and short-circuits.

What is lightning? How can fatal lightning strikes be prevented?

Lightning is the discharge of electricity from the clouds to the earth; it can be prevented with a lightning rod.

Who created the first battery and when?

Alessandro Volta created the first battery around 1800.

Compare insulators and conductors. Give examples.

Conductors allow electricity to flow through them (e.g. iron, gold); insulators do not (e.g. rubber, plastic).

What is a semiconductor? Give an example.

A non-metal that conducts electricity under certain conditions; an example is silicon.

What is a superconductor?

A superconductor conducts electricity with no resistance and is made by cooling certain substances.

What is voltage?

Voltage is like the 'pressure' of electricity, measured in Volts (V).

What is current?

Current is the amount of flow of electricity, measured in Amps (A).

How to calculate resistance?

Resistance (R) is calculated using the formula R = V/I.

How does a power plant generator work?

A generator consists of a coil of wires inside a magnet; motion spins the coils to generate electricity.

What is a phantom load?

Phantom load refers to electricity wasted while a device appears to be turned 'off'.

What is the basic unit of power?

Power is measured in Watts (W); commonly used at home is kiloWatt-hour (kWh).

What was the Current War?

A conflict between Thomas Edison (DC) and Nikola Tesla/George Westinghouse (AC) over electricity standards.

What is the formula for calculating efficiency?

% Efficiency = useful output / total input x 100.

Why are renewable energy sources better than non-renewable?

They do not run out and are cleaner for the environment, releasing little or no greenhouse gases.

What are three renewable energy sources?

Solar (uses sunlight), Hydro (uses water flow), Wind (uses wind).