Electricity, defined through scientific facts
According to Wikipedia, “Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge”.
Electricity, defined through habitual facts
Electricity, for you and me, is a part of our routine that we normally turn blind eye to or take granted for. To ponder on the fact let’s dive deep into it.
Electricity is a product of natural force that exists in our world naturally, just like we do. So invention wasn’t required, it had to be both discovered and valued.
Wonder who discovered electricity?
Benjamin Franklin
Before anything and everything, who is the personality to bless us with the discovery of electricity? –Benjamin Franklin is always at the forefront when it comes to the discovery of electricity. He came up with the idea that electricity has positive and negative elements. He stated that electricity flows between both of these elements.
Benjamin is famous for discovering the fact that lightning is a form of the flow of electricity between the positive and negative elements.
Thomas Alva Edison
If Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity, Thomas Edison furthermore retrieved it to our doorsteps.
Nikola Tesla
Tesla and Edison shared a bitter relationship. While Edison believed in DC (Direct Current), Tesla believed in AC (Alternate Current). AC was easy to flow while DC excelled in safety. Towards the end, the ball was in Tesla’s court as AC prevailed over DC. Thus, Nikola Tesla’s AC powered the entire world.
Rishi Agastya
Not only religion but science also flourished during ancient Indian times. In ‘Agastya Samhita’, written by the sage, Rishi Agastya sources the concept of power generation. Knowledge for the creation of batteries marks the discovery of electric power centuries ago.
Let’s talk about facts related to the history of electricity
Was Benjamin franklin the first to discover the existence of electricity? Maybe not.
The discovery of electricity dates around 600 BC. Michael Faraday, generated electricity using basic principles. His method was simple and is successfully used till now.
It is the movement of the copper disc between the poles of a magnet.
While comparing the statistics, electricity is also picturized in the 17th-century world. William Gilbert and Sir Thomas Browne are known for their investigations.
They were the first scientists to come up with the term ‘electricity’.
We all are aware of the fact that Greeks are the ones who experimented with almost everything and before everyone!
The presence of evidence is evidence that the ancients experimented with electricity. The Discovery of the earthenware vessel in 1936 suggested that the first batteries could have been invented more than 2,000 years ago. The earthenware pot contained copper plates, a tin alloy, and an iron rod.
We can thus conclude that electricity was a concerned topic by people prior to Benjamin.
More historical facts that need to see the light
Australia adopted its first flow of electricity in 1878 by the lightening of the General Post Office in Sydney.
The first power plant, Pearl Street Power Station in New York, built by Thomas Edison lighted 85 buildings of the city in 1879.
The collected data also states that the first bulb was lit in Mosley Street, Manchester in 1879.
An American inventor William Morrison built an electric car way before in 1891.
Are modern electrical appliances worth the shot?
YES!
- LED light bulbs use 1/6th of the electricity which costs about a quarter of its usage and lasts 40 times longer.
- The average laptop is idle at 20 watts.
- A modern fridge use 350 kWh.
- Energy-efficient washing machines consume 1/3 less energy than standard machines.
NO...
- Electrical appliances use electricity even when switched off!
- The average desktop computer idles at 80 watts.
- A fridge from the mid-80s used 1400 kWh.
- A typical microwave consumes more electricity to power its digital clock than heating the food inside!
Electricity within a body. Fact or not?
Shocking but true. Electricity plays a vital role when it comes to the heartbeat. It causes the muscle cells in our heart to contract, making it beat and helping us live.
The Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a machine that measures the electricity running through the heart. The line going up and down across the ECG screen shows the heartbeat of a living person. While the straight horizontal line shows death (which we’ve seen in a lot of movies).
An egg-laying mammal, the Platypus uses the electrical impulses emitted by its prey to find food. The sensory receptors present in Platypus’ bill have approximately 40,000 electroreceptors arranged in a series of receptors. All the ‘Phineas and Ferb’ fans out there, it’s NOT safe to pet a Platypus and is officially illegal in Australia.
You may have come across an Electric Eel in a movie or on the National Geographic channel and the facts about it are true. Eels are dangerous. They are born with electrolyte cells and in addition, can generate a shock of over 500 volts.
Let’s talk about facts and statistics
- Electricity travels with a speed equal to light that is, 30,000 kilometers per second.
- A spark of electricity can measure up to 3000 volts.
- Lightning is the discharge of electricity into the atmosphere.
- A bolt of lightning lasts less than one second but can measure 3,000,000 volts.
- Based on statistics of the World Coal Association, 40% of the world's electricity sourced by coal makes it the world’s biggest source of electricity.
- More people die from a shock of 120V than from high voltage.
- A human body needs only 6 mA of current to pass through its body to kill them.
- Moreover, 54% of electricity is simply wasted!
- Hospitals in the United States rank as the highest electricity consumers.
Global crises and Electricity Statistics
COVID-19 crises from 2019-to 2021, led to a 0.6% drop in energy production. US and India saw the collapse in power generation for the first time with 3.1% and 2.5% respectively. Other countries that followed the decline were Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Africa.
Despite the rapid growth in global crises, China’s power generation continued its flow. It grew by 3.7% in renewable power generation and had a steady coal power generation too.
Some bizarre facts on electricity
- In Sweden, Ore trains travel down the coast, generating electricity that powers nearby towns.
- Electricity from cheese! Bacteria added to sugar digests cheese. This produces methane (biogas) which is further used as the fuel. This further passes through an engine that heats water at 194 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Emperor Menelik II ordered electric chairs for capital punishment. After ordering, he realized that his country is devoid of electricity. Seeing the electric chairs were useless without electricity, the introduction of electricity took place in Ethiopia in 1896.
You better know about electricity!
We’ve all come across cautious signs, inscribed on various electrical appliances and equipment. For instance,
As authorities warn us to be careful with the electrical system, have you ever thought, ‘What in our body causes shock?’
The answer is WATER.
Electricity can be dangerous!
A human body comprises 60% of water and water is a stunning conductor of electricity. When we’re in contact with high-powered electricity it searches for a pathway with the least resistance which is, the water flowing through our body.
Thus giving us a shock!
Electricity is useful yet it’s dangerous. One should handle electrical equipment only if one is qualified in doing so. One wouldn’t perform dissection of the human brain at home after watching a medical video on YouTube. You need to have knowledge, guidance, and the required apparatus for it.
Stop meddling with Electricity!
Conclusion
We see, hear, and feel electricity every day as it is something that we thoroughly rely on. And also certainly don’t give a second think to.
Electricity is convenient and safe only if you have knowledge about it, otherwise, it can show us what it actually is. Consequently, electricity isn’t forever so don’t mess around and DO NOT waste it.
