Читать книгу Electronics All-in-One For Dummies - Lowe Doug, Doug Lowe - Страница 25

One of the most amazing things about electricity is that it is, literally, everywhere. By that I don’t mean that electricity is commonplace or plentiful, or even that the universe has an abundant supply of electricity. Instead, what I mean is that electricity is a fundamental part of everything.

To get an idea of what I mean, consider a common misconception about electric current. Most of us think that wires carry electricity from place to place. When we plug in a vacuum cleaner and turn on the switch, we believe that electricity enters the vacuum cleaner’s power cord at the electrical outlet, travels through the wire to the vacuum cleaner, and then turns the motor to make the vacuum cleaner suck up dirt and grime and dog hair. But that’s not the case. The truth is that the electricity was already in the wire. The electricity is always in the wire, even when the vacuum cleaner is turned off or the power cord isn’t plugged in. That’s because electricity is a fundamental part of the copper atoms that make up the wire inside the power cord. Electricity is also a fundamental part of the atoms that make up the rubber insulation that protects you from being electrocuted when you touch the power cord. And it’s a fundamental part of the atoms that make up the tips of your finger which the rubber keeps from touching the wires.

In short, electricity is a fundamental part of the atoms that make up all matter. So, to understand what electricity is, we must first look at atoms.