Electricity
Lightning is one of the most dramatic effects
of electricity
Electricity (from the Greek word ἤλεκτρον,
(elektron), meaning amber, and finally from
New Latin ēlectricus, "amber-like") is a gen-
eral term that encompasses a variety of phe-
nomena resulting from the presence and flow
of electric charge. These include many easily
recognizable phenomena such as lightning
and static electricity, but in addition, less fa-
miliar concepts such as the electromagnetic
field and electromagnetic induction.
In general usage, the word ’electricity’ is
adequate to refer to a number of physical ef-
fects. However, in scientific usage, the term
is vague, and these related, but distinct, con-
cepts are better identified by more precise
terms:
• – a property of some subatomic particles,
which determines their electromagnetic
interactions. Electrically charged matter is
influenced by, and produces,
electromagnetic fields.
• – a movement or flow of electrically
charged particles, typically measured in
amperes.
• – an influence produced by an electric
charge on other charges in its vicinity.
• – the capacity of an electric field to do
work on a electric charge, typically
measured in volts.
• – a fundamental interaction between the
magnetic field and the presence and
motion of an electric charge.
Electrical phenomena have been studied
since antiquity, though advances in the sci-
ence were not made until the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. Practical applica-
tions for electricity however remained few,
and it would not be until the late nineteenth
century that engineers were able to put it to
industrial and residential use. The rapid ex-
pansion in electrical technology at this time
transformed industry and society. Electri-
city’s extraordinary versatility as a source of
energy means it can be put to an almost lim-
itless set of applications which include trans-
port, heating, lighting, communications, and
computation. The backbone of modern indus-
trial society is, and for the foreseeable future
can be expected to re