The hell is electricity?

[grenadier]

That's the title of a series of guides I decided to write!

A while ago I decided to write a book that would teach people about electricity, but I gave up on that because it became a mundane task. I've been inspired to write again, but this time I remembered that nobody reads books! Therefore I have decided to write these guides and post them on the interwebs, so if you have no idea what electricity is or how it works...

...here is the first one. Enjoy!

Also, don't count on a new one every few days or every week for that matter, as I write these when I have nothing else to do.

 

[JBTexas]

Good Stuff;

Sometimes I use the "water tank with a hole" analogy to explain volts & amps.

BIG tank of water on a farm. Someone punched a hole in it. Little hole = lotta pressure, LONG thin "pushy" stream, but little volume. If it hits you, maybe your face or the front of your T-Shirt gets wet. Akin to a long spark from, say, a Van de Graaff or Wimshurst generator. Lotta volts, few amps.

Big HUGE hole = low pressure, shorter stream, but stand under it you get SOAKED immediately. Akin to an electric chair. Less volts maybe, Lotta amps.

Lightning: Lotta volts and amps. Hide from it. Imagine that water tank exploding on top of you.

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It might be good at add "How fast, really, does electricity travel through wires? What is the difference between the speed of *electricity* (from one point to another) to the speed of a particular, single electron (from the same point to another)".

 

[SLPbum]

Awesome Grenadier,
Nice Analogy JB


RDCII

 

[grenadier]

I thought about using water, but then I'd have to stick with it the whole way through.

Second guide is done, thhis one is all about wire. Teravolt.org - Wire

 

[Pilgor]

That's how my college professor always talked about electricity, water and a tank with a hole.

 

[JBTexas]

@ grenadier

Again, I like that. I like the applet on the page, too.

 

[grenadier]

Circuits! Teravolt.org - Circuits

 

[JBTexas]

Grenadier; NICE site! Some interesting gadgets there. I especially liked the "homemade LED"... sounds like an interesting experiment to do sometime.

I also used to explode electrolytics, when I was a kid. Kind of discovered it by accident. I wasn't the most responsible person when I was younger... even if I was curious about everything.