It has been many years of research since Benjamin Franklin conducted his kite experiments in 1752, but we still raise many myths about this amazing form of energy. It's time to forget everything you knew about electricity and learn something completely new.
Batteries store electrical charge or electrons
Ask yourself: what is a battery? Surely you will answer yourself that the battery stores electricity or electrons in some form float freely inside it. But this is far from the case.
Inside the battery is a chemical broth known as an electrolyte between the two terminals - the electrodes (the positive and negative sides of the battery). When the battery is connected to a device (say, a flashlight), the electrolyte is chemically converted to ions and electrons are released at the positive electrode. The electrons are attracted to the negative terminal, but there is a device (in this case a flashlight) between the terminals and the electrons power it.
Electric current depends on the thickness of the wire
Promotional video:
There is a logical misconception that more current flows through thick wires, because they have a wider path and less resistance. From the point of view of common sense, this is correct: on a four-lane highway, more cars will pass in a given period of time than on a single-lane highway. However, electric current behaves differently.
Electric current can be compared to a river: in a wide area, the river flows slowly and calmly; in a narrow stream, the stream is accelerated, but the same amount of water passes through a certain point.
Electricity has zero mass or weight
Since it is impossible to see electricity with the naked eye, it is easy to assume that electricity is simply energy that flows from point A to point B and has no mass or weight. In a sense, this is true: an electric current - like a river - has no mass or weight. However, electricity is not just a form of invisible energy, it is a stream of charged particles - electrons - that have mass and weight.
Unfortunately, this weight is completely insignificant, and the outline is round, so you will never collect many electrons in one place. Finally, the flow of charged particles moves at a speed of several centimeters per second, but more on that later.
Low voltage shock is not dangerous
Power outlets and plugs are a concern for parents raising young children, but they are not at all shy about giving children batteries to put in toys. After all, only high voltage is dangerous, right? No, not yes.
Harms and kills in the current is its strength (measured in amperes), not voltage. Under the right conditions, even a 12-volt battery can cause serious harm and, in special cases, death.
Wood and rubber objects are good insulators
When working with electricity around the house, most people first take off their rings and earrings and put on rubber gloves and shoes. While these are good first steps, they are not enough to prevent an accident. Contrary to popular belief, most things in the home are to some extent conductors rather than insulators.
Pure rubber is an excellent insulator. But most rubber shoes, gloves, and other utensils are not made from pure rubber. Many other additional substances are mixed in ordinary rubber, which increase its durability. Even a tree can be a conductor under certain conditions.
Generators create electricity
A backup power generator is great for a rainy day because it produces electricity. What does it really produce?
The generator converts mechanical (or other) energy into electrical energy. When the generator is running, it causes the electrons already present in the wires and circuit to flow through the circuit. The heart does not create blood, it only pumps it through the veins and arteries. Likewise, a generator helps electrons to flow, but does not create them.
Electric currents are just electrons flowing
While electricity can be summarized as "the flow of electrons through a conductor," this is not entirely correct. The type of electrical current in a conductor depends solely on the conductor.
For example, in the case of plasma, neon lights, fluorescent lamps and flash, a clever combination of proton and electron currents is used. In other conductors, such as electrolytes, salt water, hard ice, and battery fluid, electric current is represented by a stream of positive hydrogen ions, which is also a form of electricity.
Electricity moves at the speed of light
Most people associate electricity with lightning since childhood, and this leads to the misconception that electrons and electricity travel at the speed of light. Or almost. Although an electromagnetic wave of energy does travel through a conductor at 50 to 99 percent of the speed of light, it is important to understand that the electrons themselves move very slowly, no faster than a couple of centimeters per second.
Likewise, when you hear sound from 300 meters away, the air pressure in your ear is not caused by the movement of molecules away from the source, but rather by a compression wave that ripples and affects all the air molecules between you.
Power lines are insulated
Most of the wires and cables we come into contact with - chargers, lamps, power cords, jumper cables - are securely insulated with rubber or plastic. It would be obvious to assume that the overhead power lines are also isolated. Birds can sit on them without harm to themselves, right? No not like this.
The only reason birds do not receive a shock is because they do not touch the ground while on the cable. As a result, no electron current is generated. Since insulation is very expensive, most overhead power lines are always live and can hit up to 1,000 or even 700,000 volts.
Static electricity is different from the rest
Static electricity is fun: drag the cat across the plastic window sill while it clings to its claws, and for the next half minute it will crackle funny, not understanding what is happening. You probably think that static electricity is different from the one that makes our life warm and varied. But the only difference between current and static electricity is that one is direct current and the other is instant equalization.
Wall outlet current is a field of electromagnetic energy that waits for electrons to be transmitted in a conductor, such as a power cable. Once connected, the stream remains constant until the cable is unplugged. Static electricity is generated when two conductors with different charges approach each other. When the space between them - the insulating gap - becomes small enough, the charge closes the gap, creating an arc of electricity as the two charges equalize.
ILYA KHEL