Amperage, Amps
This is a name sometimes used in place of current. It is
used because the electrical current is measured in Amperes (Amps). By
definition, 1 Ampere = the current that will cause silver to be deposited at a
rate of 0.001118 grams per second when passed through a solution of silver
nitrate. A measurement of the amount of electric current.
Biomass
Organic materials, such as wood by-products and agricultural wastes that can be
burnt to produce energy or converted into a gas and used for fuel.
Atom
The smallest unit of matter. Scientists so far have found 112 different
kinds of atoms. Everything in the world is made of different combinations of
these atoms.
Charge
The electric charge of an object is a measure of
how much electricity is there. It is similar to the mass of an object when you
are dealing with gravity, but unlike mass charge can be either positive (+) or
negative (-). At the atomic level charge is measured in multiples of the charge
on an electron (-1), in larger cases the usual measurement is the Coulomb.
Conductor
A conductor is a material that allows electricity to move
through it easily. That is, it is a material with low electrical resistance, one
in which a fairly small voltage will produce a fairly large current. It is the
opposite of an insulator; something that allows electricity to flow through it
easily. Water and most metals are good conductors. Conductors can allow
electricity to flow through them because the electrons in their atoms move
between atoms very easily.
Coulomb
The Coulomb is the unit normally
used to measure large charges. 1 Coulomb = the amount of electricity passing a
given point in 1 second at a current of 1 Ampere.
Current
The
electrical current is simply a measure of how much electricity passes a given
point in a fixed period of time. It is similar to the current of a stream or
river, which measures how much water, passes a given point in a fixed amount of
time. Electrical current is measured in Amperes (Amps). The movement or flow of
electricity.
Distribution Lines
Power lines that carry electricity
through towns and neighbourhoods to homes and businesses. Distribution lines can
run overhead or underground.
Electricity
The flow of electrons.
Electron
The basic particle that orbits the nucleus of an atom. The flow
of electrons produces electricity.
Electric Field
The space near a
charged BODY where other charges are affected. Similar to the gravitational
field near a planet, except that it can also repel. The term is also used to
describe how the field will affect other charges (which way and how much it will
accelerate them).
Energy
The ability to do work. People get energy from
food. Your toaster and your washing machine get their energy from electricity.
Faraday Cage
The name given to a device that shields its inside from
electric fields generated by static electricity. Usually a complete conductive
shell, it collects stray charges and, because like charges repel, stores them on
the outside surface (where they can be further apart than on the inside). The
electric fields generated by these charges then cancel each other out on the
inside of the cage. Often used to protect sensitive radio equipment.
Fission
The splitting apart of an atom's nucleus, releasing a large
amount of heat energy.
Fluorescent bulb
It is a light bulb that
emits light because the gas inside it glows when it is charged by electricity.
Fuel cell
A technology that produces electricity through a chemical
reaction similar to that found in a battery.
Frequency
For an
alternating current, the frequency is the number of times that the current goes
through a complete cycle per second. It is measured in Hertz (cycles per
second).
Generator
A machine that converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy.
Geothermal energy
Energy that is generated by
converting hot water or steam from deep beneath the Earth's surface into
electricity.
Ground
The ground is an arbitrarily decided point whose
voltage is taken as zero. In many situations, equipment is connected physically
to the actual, dirt ground, so that voltage is taken as zero--hence the name. In
England the term "earth" is used, for the same reason. To be "grounded" means to
be connected to a place that is maintained at the ground voltage.
Hydroelectricity
Electricity that is generated when falling water makes a
turbine spin.
Induction
Induction is the process by which charge is
moved in a conductor by the presence of an electric field. In wires this will
lead to a current, in discrete conducting objects it will lead to local charging
i.e. the side near the inducing charge will become the opposite charge and the
far side will acquire a similar charge leaving the overall charge of the object
unchanged.
Incandescent bulb
A light bulb that emits light due to the
glowing of a heated filament inside it.
Insulator
An insulator is a
material that electricity has a hard time moving through, if it can at all. For
a true insulator it takes a very high voltage to produce any current at all, and
that often results in damage to the insulator. The opposite of a conductor.
Something that does not allow electricity to flow through it easily. Glass and
special rubber are good insulators. Insulators do not allow electricity to flow
through them easily because the electrons in their atoms do not move easily from
atom to atom.
Kilowatt
1,000 watts of electricity.
Kilowatt
hour
One kilowatt of electricity produced or used in one hour.
Megawatt
One million watts. 1,000,000 watts of power or 1,000 kilowatts.
Natural gas
A gas used as a fuel, which is formed naturally in the earth
when organic material decomposes under pressure.
Neutron
A basic
particle in an atom's nucleus that has a neutral electrical charge.
Nucleus
The center of an atom. The nucleus contains tiny particles called
protons and neutrons. Orbiting around the nucleus are electrons.
Ohm
The Ohm is the unit of electrical resistance.
Photovoltaic cell
A
device that changes sunlight directly into electricity.
Power plant
A place where electricity is generated.
Power line
A wire used to
carry electricity. Power lines are located high overhead or buried underground.
Proton
A basic particle in an atom's nucleus that has a positive
electrical charge.
Resistance
Electrical resistance is a measure of
how hard it is for a current to pass through a given material. It is similar to
the way that it is harder for you to walk through water than air. It is usually
measured in Ohms.
Static Electricity
Static electricity (or just
"static") is the name used to cover those phenomena that involve charges that
are not moving (much)-i.e. they are static. The other form of electrical
phenomena is current electricity, where the charges are moving in a large-scale,
organized way.
Solar energy
Electricity produced from the sun's
radiation.
Substation
A facility where transformers lower or
increase electricity's voltage.
Transformer
A transformer is simple
a device that transforms electricity form one voltage to another. The power
coming out of the transformer cannot exceed that going in, so the output current
is reduced in direct proportion to the gain in voltage. A device used to
increase or decrease electricity's voltage and current.
Transmission
lines
Power lines that carry high-voltage electricity long distances.
Turbine
A device used in the generation of electricity. It has a shaft
with blades at one end and electromagnets at the other. Water or steam or some
other energy source pushes the blades, which make the shaft and the magnets spin
very fast. The magnet end is surrounded by heavy coils of copper wire, and the
spinning magnets cause electrons in the wire to begin to move, creating
electricity.
Utility
A company or other organization that provides a
public service, such as supplying electricity, natural gas, or water.
Voltage, Volts
Voltage is a measure of the force on a unit charge at a given
point in space due to all the other "local" charges. It is similar to the
gravitational pull on a unit mass in space, except that, since charges can be +
and -, the force can be attractive or repulsive. 1 Volt = force required to
produce a current of 1 Ampere in a wire of 1 Ohm resistance. A measure of the
pressure under which electricity flows.
Wattage, Watts
A measure of
the amount of work done by a certain amount or amperage of electric current at a
certain pressure or voltage.