Electricity Made Easy

8/8/2019 Electricity Made Easy

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madeeasyElectricity

2008


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Electricityrunsalmosteveryapplianceinyourhouse.

Withoutit,youwouldnthavethingslikelights,computers,

televisions,orrefrigerators!

Electricityis thefowoenergy,orelectrons romoneatomtoanot

heratom.

Atoms arethebuildingblockso everything aroundus,suchasmetal,ood, abric

evenyou! Theseatomsare toosmalloryouto see withyour eyes, b

utscientistscan

seethemwith special microscopes.

Atomsandcellsaremadeupo even smaller particlesincludingace

ntreor nucleus.

Thenucleuscontains positivelychargedparticlescalled protons, and

uncharged

particlescalled neutrons. Atoms alsoincludenegatively chargedparti

clescalled

electrons, whichspin quicklyaround thenucleusjustlike themoon

around theearth.

Somekindsoatoms, likethose whichmake upmetalorwire, have

electrons that

foweasilyromoneatomtoanotherwhen theyare charged.When

thishappens,

a current orfowoenergy isgenerated, creatingelectricity!

Whatis
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/introduction.pdf


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Andre Marie Ampere is the

rst to explainhow thefow o electricity works.

The unit o electric current,the Amp is named

ater him.

Michael Faraday inventsthe rst electric generator.

Thomas Edison invents the

rst light bulb. He also

invents atype o generator

that works with JamesWatts steam engine.

Together theymake it

possible or us to produce

lots o electricitytoday!

Dr William Gilbert proves

many substances are

electric and magnetic,

notjust amber.

Benjamin Franklin fies a kite in

athunderstorm and proves that

the electric sparkromamber is

thesame thing as lightning. The

lightning strike that provesthis

nearly kills him!

James Watt invents the

steam engine. The Watt is

named ater him.

Alessandro Voltadiscoversthatanelectric current

canbe createdwhen twometals touch.Heinventsthe electricbattery and

thewordVolt is namedafterhim.

16thCentury

1769

1820s1879

1752

17921831

TheGreek

wordfor

amberis

electron
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/history.pdf


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The rst electric light is put on

public display in Australia at the

Observatory in Sydney.

Sydney gets its rst power station. Its built in

Pyrmont, which today looks very dierent!

Melbourneis the rst city inAustraliato have a power stationandtherst to

have electric street lights.

Therearenearly8millionhouseholdswithelectricityinAustralia,and70%haveacomputer.

Tamworth is the rst Australiantown to have street lighting. Penrith,Moss Vale, Broken Hill andRedern

ollow soon ater.

By now, one third o all homes inAustraliahave electricity andthe mostpopular appliance is the clothes iron.

Australiawasveryquicktostartusingelectricity.

Hereshowitwentfrombeinganoveltytosomething

wecantimaginelifewithout!

18631894 1927

1888 1904 Today
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/history.pdf


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Most families gettheirelectricity from a power station.

At each power station, there is a huge coil o wire that spinsaround in giant magnets.

The coil o wire is made up o hundreds and thousands o atoms, with many more

thousands o electrons. As the wire spins, the giant magnets causethe electrons to

fow quickly rom atom to atom, creating electricity.

Dierent power stations use dierent methods to makethe coil wire spin.

Here are a ew dierent power stations people have built to getthose

electrons fowing.

Wind farms Nuclearpowerstations

Howiselectricitymade?

Hydro-electricpowerstationsGas-turbine power stations

Geothermalpowerstations

Fuels such as petroleum, gas, coalor biomass (e.g. wood, rubbish)

are burnt to heatwater,creating steamwhich moves through a

turbine (like a big an or rotor). The turbine makes the coil o wire

spinand the electrons fow, creating electricity.Flowing water (usually rom a dam) pushesagainst the turbine

blades.This causes a rotor to turn, and the coil o wire to spin,

making the electrons fow.

Fuels are burnedto createhot gases which go through a turbine,

which in turn makes the coil o wire spin andelectronsfow.

Windpushes against theturbine blades, causing arotor

toturn, thecoil o wire to spin, and the electrons to fow.

Nuclear reactions are created to heat water.This turnsinto

steam and then goes into a turbine, which makes thecoil o

wire spin and the electrons fow.

Deep wells are drilled into theground to reach the layer othe earth

where rain water has soaked in andbecome really hot. Steam rom

thehot water gushes out,goingthrough a heat exchanger and thena

turbine, makingthe coil o wire spin and the electrons fow.

. . .

. ..

.

...

Steampowerstations
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/production.pdf


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Solar energycanalso be used tomakeelectricity.

Solar energycomes from the sun.Therearetwo

types of solarenergy: heat andlight,and there

aretwo ways of collectingsolar energy.

The rst way is to collect or absorb heat rom the sun to heat

fuid, usually water. Thermal collectors are used or this process,

and can be commonly ound on the roo o homes as part o

solar hot water systems.

The second way is to use sunlight to make electricity. Solar

collectors used or this process are called Photovoltaic (PV) cells

(Photo = light, and voltaic = electricity). Whenthe sun hits thePV

cell, the little particles o light excitethe electrons in the cell, and

causethem to fow, generating electricity.

Theelectriceel(Electropho

ruselectricus),

arelativeothepiranha,i

stheworldsmostelectric

fsh.

Measuringupto1.8m(6t)inlength,itlivesin

theriversoBrazilandth

eGuianas,andcanstun

itspreywithanelectricsh

ockoupto650volts

enoughtolightanelect

ricbulb

orstunahumanadult!

Fryingfsh

Solarenergy
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/solar.pdf


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Voltagemeanselectricalpressure.Youcanthinkoitlikethepressurethatpusheswaterthroughagardenhose.Thehigherthevoltage,themoreelectricitythereisfowingthroughapowerline.

traveltO

Whatis

Electricity is created at

the power station

Big transormers reduce the

voltage so that it can travel

down suburban powerlines

It travelsthrough thick

transmission wires to the

substation in your suburb

Electricity travels to

smaller transormers

near your home

The voltage is reduced even

urther or local usage

Electricity nally travels intoyourhousesoyou can useappliances like TVs, toastersand computers

How does electricity

yourhome?

voltage?

. .
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/journey.pdf


9/16

Electricitycanbe dangerous, especiallyif wecomeintocontact with itin ways we

should not.You can prevent gettingan electric shock byfollowing these

simple safety rules:

with electricity

Switch o and unplug

Always make sure you have turned o the power rst beore

unplugging an appliance.

Dont overcrowd

Dont plug too many appliances into the one socket because

it might overheat.

Electricity and water dont mix

Never leave an electrical appliance near the bath, sink or

basin, and never touch appliances, power points or light

switches with wet hands.

Electricity can jump great distances

Never enter into substation sites its very dangerous in there

because electricity can jump or arc easily. And never go

anywhere near a allen powerline. I its live, you only need to

stand near it to get electrocuted.

Electricity always seeks a path to the groundNever fy a model aeroplane or kite near overhead powerlines.

I it hits a powerline, electricity could travel down the string and

through you.

Emergencies

I you see someone get an electric shock, DO NOT touch them.

Youll get shocked too. Instead turn o the electricity at the

switch, unplug the appliance the person is touching,

and call 000.

Livingsafely. .

. . .
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/safety.pdf


10/16

Ithekookaburrasitsononlyonepowerline, it stayssae.Itswhenthe wingsoa large birdorfyingoxaccidentallytouch twopowerlinesatthesametimethatitgetshurt.Thatsbecause anewcircuitoelectricityiscreatedthat canfowthroughthebirdsbody.

Whenplaying outside always remember to:

1 stay clear o overhead powerlines

2 make sure avourite trees,tree branches and cubby houses

are clear o powerlines

3 fy kites or model aeroplanes away rom overhead powerlines

4 ater a big storm or strong winds, check outside play areas

to

make sure there are no allen or damaged powerlines

5 stay out in open spaces and close to the ground i you get

caught in an electrical storm

6 look up beore climbingtrees.

torememberSafety rules

outside.

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Wheninsideyourhome,rememberto:

1 unplug bathroom and kitchen appliances when not in use

2 check that appliance cords and plugs arent damaged or worn beore

touching them

3 keep electrical appliances well away rom water

4 dry your hands beoretouching appliances, power pointsor light switches

5treat electrical appliances with respect

(so no knives in toasters or example!)

6 keep the number o appliances plugged into a single power point

to a minimum.

toremember

inside

Safety rules. .


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Thinkof howmuchelectricity youusein a day.

From your alarm clock waking you up, to your hot shower beore school,

right through to watching your avourite TV show at night, youre

constantly using electricity.

Now think o everyone in the world using as much electricity

asyou, every day. Thats a lot o electricity!

Thats why its important we save electricity wherever we can.By saving

electricity we can save money on our energy bill. And we canalso

reduce pollution and other environmental problems, all helping to

make a dierence.

How to

electricityuseless. .
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/saving.pdf


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onlyturn onheatersand air co

nditioners inrooms

beingused

whenusing heaters oraircond

itioners, closeallthe

windowsand doors to preventthecool orwarm air rom

escaping,and closethecurtainswherepossible

turn oyourbedroomlightan

dlightsaroundyourhome

when youdontneed them, especiallyoutdoor lightswhich

can beeasily orgotten

keeptheridgedoor closed.E

nergy iswastedwhencool air

leaksout

help hangoutclothesonthel

ine instead ousingthe

clothesdryer. Sunlightis reeandyou dontwasteenergy

turnyourcomputerowhen y

oufnish usingit.You waste

energyi youleave itrunning all day

turno appliances likeTVs,vid

eos andstereosatthewall

whenyou have fnishedusingit.Standby modestill

usespower

drippingtapswastealotohotwater,so turnoevery tap

ullyateryou fnishusing it

showersuseup to 20litres ow

ater per minute, so take

shortershowers(4 minutes)andhavethetapsturned

onlow

brushingyourteethorwashing

yourhandsdoesnotrequire

hotwater.Usecoldwaterinsteadtohelpsaveenergy.

How can you help?Heres achecklist ofenergysavingchallenges for

you todo around the house.Tick off the box forevery energy saving challengeyoucomplete!

CheckouttheIntegralEnergywebsiteforatotallyinteractiveEnergyCalculator.Youcandraganddropalltheappliancesintoeachroomofyourhouseandworkouthowmuchenergyyourhouseisgenerating.
http://www.electrickids.com.au/fact_sheets/saving.pdf


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Electricityuse ismeasured in kilowatt hours (kWh).

1 kWh equals1,000 watts of electricityused in

one hour.

To measure how much electricity your amily is using, ask an adultto

ndthe meter box and check it is sae. Stand directly in ronto it,

and start reading the dials. Be very careul nottotouch anything!

Read each dial one at a time and write down the matching numbers

rom rightto let as you read them.

When a dial points betweentwo numbers, write down the lower othe two. I it points between 0 and 1, write down 0, but i it

points

between 9 and 0, write down 9.

In the gure onthe right, the reading is 0-2-8-0-8, which is equal to

2,808 kilowatt hours (kWh).

Dothe same thing in one weeks time, and then subtract theold

gure romthe new. This willtell you how much energy youramily

is using every week!

electricitymeterathomeHowtoreadyo

ur

101001000

10,000

0 2 8 0 8

kWh

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AreyouanEnergenius?

Howmuchaboutelectricitydoy

ouremember?

Takeourquiz andndoutiyou

areocially

anEnergenius!

QuizQuestions1. What istheG

reekwordoramber?

2. Who inventedthelightbulb?

3. WhichwastherstAustralian

towntohave

streetlighting?

4. Whatfows romatomtoato

mtocreateelectricity?

5. Whereiselectricitycreated?

6. Whatisvoltage?

7. Whatare thetwo waysocoll

ectingsolarenergy?

8. Whatcarriespowertoourho

mes?

9. Canyoubeelectrocutediyo

uarenot touching

apowerline?

10.Whyissavingenergyagoodi

dea?

Are you an

Answers

1.Electron

2.ThomasEdison

3.Tamworth

4.Electrons

5.Thepowerstation

6.Electricalpressure

7.Heatandlight

8.Powerlines

9.Yes,becauseitcan

jumporarc

10.Becauseitcanhelp

savemoneyand

protecttheplanet

energenius?

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LIL_

4D1672_

BRO

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