Electrical currents

Static electricity occurs in nature and is easy to create in small quantities. However, as it cannot be transported easily from place to place it is not very useful for powering our homes and businesses.

Current electricity, or electrical current, can flow from place to place through a pathway, such as a wire. This lets us move electricity from where we make it to where we use it. It also allows us to create electrical circuits, needed for electrically-powered devices to work.

Creating a current of electricity requires a source of electrons and a pathway for them to flow along. The source of these electrons might be a battery or a generator. The pathway is usually made of metal and is called a conductor.

Conductors are pathways that allow the electrons to move from one end to the other. The more freely the electrons can move through a conductor, the more effective it is. Copper wire is often used as a conductor as it allows electricity electrons to pass through it freely.

Materials that will not conduct electricity, such as rubber and plastic, are called insulators. They are used to insulate, or keep separate, an electrically-charged conductor from nearby objects so the charged electrons don't jump off their path. Many wires are coated with brightly coloured plastic that insulates the wire inside and prevents the electrons from jumping the wrong way.