The study of electricity fascinated scientists for centuries, in part because it is both beautiful and dangerous. Electricity itself is the movement of charged particles called electrons. While the electricity used in homes today is directed through a conductive material, electricity in the form of ...
The electrons don't necessarily have to run in circle to transport energy: in AC, they simply "run on the spot."Animation: What's the difference between DC and AC electricity? Suppose you have to vacuum a room. Direct current is a bit like working from one side to the other in a ...
From the small AA batteries used in your TV remote to large, industrial power stations that pull electricity directly from a grid, if it stores and transfers electrons, then it can power an electromagnet. Let's start with a look at how household batteries function. Most batteries have two ...
What Electrical Engineers Do and Why It Matters Because electricity is ordinarily invisible to the naked eye, someone who intends to work as an electrical engineer should be curious about mysterious forces that significantly affect the universe but aren't obvious to a layperson. ...
How do electricity and magnetism interact? How much force can a rocket engine generate? How can objects become electrically charged? How do electrons create a magnetic field? How is a cyclotron engine different than an ion engine? How is energy released in a nuclear reaction?
Those photons energize the electrons within the solar cell material, causing them to escape their atomic bonds and become free. Solar cells have a PN junction composed of semiconductor materials, which directs the flow of free electrons, generating electricity. Do solar panels mean my house is ...
No. If they did, then the whole arrangement wouldn't be very useful. However, right at the junction, they do mix and form something of a barrier, making it harder and harder for electrons on the N side to cross over to the P side. Eventually, equilibrium is reached, and we have an...
A capacitor is like a small bucket that can store electrons. To store a 1 in the memory cell, the bucket is filled with electrons. To store a 0, it is emptied. The problem with the capacitor's bucket is that it has a leak. In a matter of a few milliseconds a full bucket becomes...
something traditional electromechanical meters can't do. A built-in communication chip allows the smart meter to send meter reading details directly to the utility company, and in return, the utility will usually share that data with the consumer so they can better understand their electricity ...
This means the lamp can produce more light than it would otherwise do and also helps to reduce flicker. The circuit is connected to a couple of electrical contacts called electrodes. When electricity flows into the electrodes, electrons (shown here as red dots) boil" from their surface and ...