Data Sheet

-3-
About Electricity
1. What is Electricity?
Q: So many things are connected to electricity, such as
lamps, TVs, and air conditioners. Can you tell me what
electricity is?
A: It can be dened as the movement of
sub-atomic particles (with their electrical
charges) through a material due to an
electrical charge outside the material.
There are some examples in our daily
life, such as lightn ing and static
electricity.
2. Who Discovered Electricity?
Q: Who discovered electricity?
A: I am going to tell you a story that can be traced back to at least
600 BCE. In ancient Greece, it was found that rubbing fur on
amber cause an attraction between the two. This discovery is credited
to the philosopher Thales of Miletus. One day, when he was polishing
his amber at home, he found that a piece of fur was
attracted by the amber after he put it on the desk.
Then he split them, but it happened again. So he made
record about the phenomenon. It was to be many
centuries before anyone was able to connect this
phenomenon with electricity and a century more
before electrical current was put to practical use.
3. How to Categorize Electricity?
Q: Are we using the same electricity to power the air
conditioner and the remote control?
A: Good question! Actually they are totally
different. What we use in the air conditioner
is called alternating current, because
the ow of electric charge periodically
reverses direction. All home appliances
use alternating current; whereas, we use
direct current in the remote control, in
which the ow of electric charge is only in
one direction.
4. Wireless
Q: My parents tell me that the weather report is transferred
by the satellite, but I know it is impossible for us to connect
a wire to outer space. How do we deliver these
messages?
A: Wireless communication is the
transfer of information between two or
more points that are not connected by
an electrical conductor. So scientists
upload the information by wireless
waves, so it can transfer to wherever
they want.
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