Facts About Electricity
Facts
The flow of heat into and out of your home can be controlled by properly insulating the house.
A bird can sit on a power line without getting electrocuted because it's not making a complete circuit...
If the bird touches two lines or the ground, it completes the circuit and gets electrocuted.
Electricity is a flow of electrons and it only flows through materials with free electrons like metals.
Touching a live wire gives electricity a shortcut to the ground, causing electrocution.
Did you know?
Power lines can carry thousands of volts of electricity.
Lightning is a natural form of electricity—one bolt could power a city for a year!
Electric eels can generate electric shocks to stun predators.
Electricity can jump—stay away from power lines.
Benjamin Franklin experimented with lightning and electricity in 1754.
Experiments
Open a torch to see how the metal parts make a circuit.
Only use batteries when doing electrical experiments—they're safe for kids.
List the items you use daily that rely on electricity. What would happen without it?
How many things do you use that run on batteries?
Investigation
Talk to your family or classmates about electrical safety tips.
Why should your hands be dry before using electrical devices?
Why is it dangerous to fly kites near power lines?
Back in the Day
Before electricity, people used fireplaces and coal-burning stoves for heat and cooking.
Kerosene lamps provided light at night.
Today, we rely on electricity for lighting, cooking, communication, and more.
Power outages remind us just how dependent we are on it.