Electricity. In this day and age, we cannot live without it.
It warms up our homes, brings us our water, and grows our food. Our economy
has, for a long time now, also relied on electricity. Bank accounts, stocks,
bonds, e-mail, and all of the manufacturing on the planet require electricity.
However, electricity is pretty useless without electrical circuits. An
electrical circuit is a path that electrons take where, normally, they pass
through whatever they are powering, and the electrons flow out and to ground,
or the return. Electrons, or negatively charged sub-atomic particles make up
electric currents.
Electric currents can travel freely through conductors.
Conductors include all metals on the periodic table, and other materials, like
water. Semiconductors are like conductors, but, they partially restrict the
flow of electricity. They consist of metalloids on the periodic table, like
boron. Insulators restrict the flow of electrons. Any substance that is not a
conductor or semiconductor is an insulator. Because the current is a lot
smaller in circuits than in devices such as lights, semiconductors are just as
capable in circuits and are more easily manufactured, so circuits normally
contain a combination of silicone and copper wiring. Usually, electrons are
very slow, moving nanometers per second. However, in closed circuits, electrons
go near the speed of sound. This is why when you hit a button on your phone, it
does things instantly.
In 1800, Alessandro
Volta invented the first circuit with a salt solution attached to metal
strips. After experimentation, he learned two requirements circuits needed to
work. One requirement was that the circuit needed to be closed. This is because
a circuit is like a waterslide at a waterpark. After going down the wire, the
electrons need a place to go. In a waterpark, the pool would have a drain that
brings the water back up to the top of the slide, or the power source in a
circuit. The second requirement is a constant energy source. After passing
through the device, the electrons cannot be used again, as their energy is used
up getting back to the power cell.
In society, we are becoming increasingly reliant on on
electricity and electric circuits. People can barely get by when there is a one
hour power outage these days. Electricity and electric circuits are an integral part of life now. Lights, heat, cooking food, water usage and filtration, and food preservation. All things that we as a society and as a species cannot live without. Furthermore, we do not think about nearly all, if not all of those things on a daily basis.
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