Basic Electricity: Notes

Electricity is defined as the movement of electrons from one atom to another. In order to understand electricity a basic explanation of the atom is needed.

All matter is made up of molecules. An atom is the smallest particle to which a molecule can be reduced.

Atoms consist of:

Electrons -Negatively charged particles orbiting around a nucleus.

Protons -Positively charged particles in the nucleus.

Neutrons -Uncharged particles in the nucleus that stabilize the protons.

An atom is balanced or displays a neutral charge when the number of protons and electrons are equal.

Through various means (e.g. A chemical reaction in the automotive battery) electrons are displaced from their normal orbit.

These displaced electrons attach themselves to other atoms, creating an unbalance in the number of electrons and protons in both atoms.

Atoms which loose or repel an electron become positively charged because of the greater number of protons. These atoms are called "Positive Ions".

Atoms which pickup or gain extra electrons become negatively charged and are called "Negative Ions".

The negative ions will attempt to repel the extra electron and the positive ions will attempt to attract it.

The movement of free electrons from one atom to another is called electron flow or electric current flow.

This flow of electrons does not mean that a single electron travels the entire length of the wire.

Electron flow is the movement of free electrons from atom to atom and the transmission of an electrical impulse from one end of a conductor to the other.

The constant unbalancing and rebalancing of the atoms takes place in less than one millionth of a second.