While the act of illuminating a room by flipping a switch may seem like wizardry to some, electricity is a fairly simple phenomenon. At its most basic, electricity is charged atomic particles called electrons in motion. Ordinarily, electrons hang out in orbit around their atom’s nucleus. They are free to move but do not travel far from their comfort zone without a little extra push. In order to get these electrons moving, they need to be contained in a conductor, a material through which these electrons can pass freely, such as a copper wire. Once the electrons have an environment they can travel through, they simply require a power source, such as a battery, to provide the energy to get them going. This charge, measured in volts, slowly pulls the electrons from their complacent orbit and into motion together through the circuit.
It’s like a gym full of awkward 7th graders. Hear me out. There are streamers and balloons; the environment is ripe and ready for a dance, however, the tweens are just milling about, just like the electrons in the copper wire before a charge. They may be dancing, doing the shopping cart or even perhaps the occasional white-boy, but they aren’t dancing together. That is, until, a particular song moves them: the Macarena, or, if I may, the Electric Slide. Suddenly, the pre-teens aren’t just bobbing around in their personal space, they are dancing together. The song, or power source, has completed the circuit and incited the teenage-electrons to flow, generating electricity and merriment.
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