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CompileTime
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Please note, this is a question, and not a guide or instructional article.
While learning about electrical-engineering, I realized that I did not really know what electricity was.
So I decided to read into it, and what I found was quite confusing. A lot of articles I read conflicted with my original understanding of electricity. Eventually, I formed a new understanding, and as of now, this is what I know:
Atomic Structure
Atoms contain electrons, protons and neutrons. Atoms are usually electrically neutral.
Neutrons hold atoms together. They're electrically neutral (They have no charge).
Protons determine what element the atom is. These carry a positive charge, and they weigh almost as much as neutrons.
Electrons are primarily what flows in electric current. These carry a negative charge, and they weigh much less than protons or neutrons.
Ions are atoms that do not have a neutral charge.
Anions are atoms that are negatively charged because they have more electrons than protons. (Due to gaining an electron)
Cations are atoms that are positively charged because they have more protons than electrons. (Due to losing an electron)
Conductors
Certain elements conduct electricity well because they give up electrons easily. We call these elements conductors. Now, copper for instance is a conductor because it has one free electron in its outer shell. Notice in the image above that the 29th electron is all alone in the fourth outer shell, this allows it to break off from the atom relatively easily.
Electrical Current (DC)
Electrical current is what we call a flow of electric charge. When an electron breaks free of its atom, that can start a chain reaction and cause other electrons to also jump from atom to atom.
The electrons themselves move relatively slowly. And the reason your lights turn on nearly instantly is because the chain reaction, the "wave" or "energy" moves very fast. This is analogous to pushing water in a large pipe. If you apply pressure to one end, water at the other end will move instantly, the water at your end of the pipe didn't have to move far at all for the water at the other end to move.
Electrical Circuit (DC)
An electrical circuit is a closed loop made of a conductive element. Electrons flow from one end of the circuit to the other and may optionally pass through a "load" which consumes the power.
In this image, the electrons flow from the anode(negative terminal) to the cathode(positive terminal). The electrons flow in this circuit because the anode contains anions which are attracted to cations in the cathode.
Generating Electricity (DC)
An electric current can be generated by moving a magnetic field through a conductor. By moving a magnetic field through a conductor, "free" electrons on the outer shell can be knocked from their atoms and start flowing in one direction.
PhysicsForums would not load the gif, so I linked to it instead:
http://s27.postimg.org/5wtz8hdu9/c30babe5806875c930f51520db2f367f.gif
Using Electricity
We can use electricity in many ways. One way we can use electricity is to pass it through a metal with high resistance producing heat. We can use this heat to excite certain gasses that in turn, produce visible light. Note that the electrons are not consumed when this happens, they simply lose some of that "energy" we talked about earlier.
Now my question...
Nowadays we use AC so the electrons in the coils that generate electricity at power plants do not go anywhere. But in Edison's day when DC was being used commercially, did the coils need to be replaced when the electrons were knocked free of their atoms? How were the electrons in the coils replenished? If the direct current flowed to my house, would it also flow back to the same power plant?
Also, please correct me if I'm thinking about electricity or atoms in the wrong way, I am still learning, and what I wrote above is what I understand so far. This is by no means a guide or instructional article.
Thanks! :)
While learning about electrical-engineering, I realized that I did not really know what electricity was.
So I decided to read into it, and what I found was quite confusing. A lot of articles I read conflicted with my original understanding of electricity. Eventually, I formed a new understanding, and as of now, this is what I know:
Atomic Structure
Atoms contain electrons, protons and neutrons. Atoms are usually electrically neutral.
Neutrons hold atoms together. They're electrically neutral (They have no charge).
Protons determine what element the atom is. These carry a positive charge, and they weigh almost as much as neutrons.
Electrons are primarily what flows in electric current. These carry a negative charge, and they weigh much less than protons or neutrons.
Ions are atoms that do not have a neutral charge.
Anions are atoms that are negatively charged because they have more electrons than protons. (Due to gaining an electron)
Cations are atoms that are positively charged because they have more protons than electrons. (Due to losing an electron)
Conductors
Certain elements conduct electricity well because they give up electrons easily. We call these elements conductors. Now, copper for instance is a conductor because it has one free electron in its outer shell. Notice in the image above that the 29th electron is all alone in the fourth outer shell, this allows it to break off from the atom relatively easily.
Electrical Current (DC)
Electrical current is what we call a flow of electric charge. When an electron breaks free of its atom, that can start a chain reaction and cause other electrons to also jump from atom to atom.
The electrons themselves move relatively slowly. And the reason your lights turn on nearly instantly is because the chain reaction, the "wave" or "energy" moves very fast. This is analogous to pushing water in a large pipe. If you apply pressure to one end, water at the other end will move instantly, the water at your end of the pipe didn't have to move far at all for the water at the other end to move.
Electrical Circuit (DC)
An electrical circuit is a closed loop made of a conductive element. Electrons flow from one end of the circuit to the other and may optionally pass through a "load" which consumes the power.
In this image, the electrons flow from the anode(negative terminal) to the cathode(positive terminal). The electrons flow in this circuit because the anode contains anions which are attracted to cations in the cathode.
Generating Electricity (DC)
An electric current can be generated by moving a magnetic field through a conductor. By moving a magnetic field through a conductor, "free" electrons on the outer shell can be knocked from their atoms and start flowing in one direction.
PhysicsForums would not load the gif, so I linked to it instead:
http://s27.postimg.org/5wtz8hdu9/c30babe5806875c930f51520db2f367f.gif
Using Electricity
We can use electricity in many ways. One way we can use electricity is to pass it through a metal with high resistance producing heat. We can use this heat to excite certain gasses that in turn, produce visible light. Note that the electrons are not consumed when this happens, they simply lose some of that "energy" we talked about earlier.
Now my question...
Nowadays we use AC so the electrons in the coils that generate electricity at power plants do not go anywhere. But in Edison's day when DC was being used commercially, did the coils need to be replaced when the electrons were knocked free of their atoms? How were the electrons in the coils replenished? If the direct current flowed to my house, would it also flow back to the same power plant?
Also, please correct me if I'm thinking about electricity or atoms in the wrong way, I am still learning, and what I wrote above is what I understand so far. This is by no means a guide or instructional article.
Thanks! :)
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