Unit 1 · What's going on? 5 minAge 8+
What is electricity?
It's like water flowing through pipes — except much, much faster.
Everything around you — the chair, your sweater, your nose — is made of tiny pieces called atoms. Inside each atom are even tinier pieces called electrons. Electricity is just electrons moving from one place to another.
When billions of electrons all move together through a wire in the same direction, that's an electric current. The current is what lights your bulb, runs your fridge, and charges your tablet.
Electrons don't move because they want to. They move because something pushes them. That push usually comes from a battery, a wall socket, or a solar panel — anything that can supply electrical pressure.
Now you understand…
- Electricity is electrons moving together.
- Wires are the roads electrons travel on.
- Something has to push the electrons — usually a battery.
Now meet the two numbers that describe how electricity behaves.