10 Myths About Electricity
Many centuries of research and study have passed since Benjamin Franklin conducted his experiments with a kite in 1752, but there are still many myths about this revolutionary form of energy. Rest aside your misconceptions, grab some popcorn, and keep reading you’re in for quite a shock!
10 Batteries Store Electric Charge Or Electrons
Ask yourself: “What is a battery?” A very common answer is that a battery stores electricity, or perhaps a form of free electrons “floating” around inside. However, that is far from the truth.
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Inside a battery is a chemical soup known as an electrolyte, stored between two terminals known as electrodes (the positive and negative sides of a battery). When a battery is connected to a device (say, a flashlight), the electrolyte is chemically transformed into ions, and electrons are discharged from the positive electrode. The electrons are attracted by the negative terminal, but between the terminals is the device (in this case, a flashlight), and the electrons power it.
9 Current Of Electricity Depends On Wire Thickness
An understandable misconception about the current of electricity through wires is that thicker wires allow for more electrical current to travel through it since there is a wider path and less resistance. Intuitively, this seems correct: a four-lane highway will allow more cars to pass in a given time than to a 1 lane highway. However, electrical current behaves differently.
Electric current can be compared to a river: at a wide point, the river is slow and calm; at a narrower point, the current flows much faster, but the same amount still flows through any given point.
8 Electricity Has Zero Mass Or Weight
Since it is impossible to view electricity with the naked eye, it is easy to assume that electricity is simply energy that flows from point A to point B and has no mass or weight. In some ways, this is true: an electric current—just like a river current—does not have mass or weight. However, electricity is not just a form of invisible energy but is the flow of charged particles—electrons—that each have mass and weight.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to detect this weight since it is minuscule, and the circuit is circular, so there is never a noticeable buildup of electrons in any one place. Finally, the actual flow of charged particles is no greater than a few centimeters per second, as you will read later on.
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