How do electronic devices actually use the electricity/power?

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What makes the electric current streaming through electronic devices actually being used and convert it into something else like movement, light etc? What makes it being consumed by the device?

If electric current is a solid matter, and solid matter being consumed, it wont just disappear without a trace, it would create a waste right? In this case its probably heat.

I have zero knowledge about electricity and this just struck my brain.

I hope you guys understand what i am trying to say

In: Engineering

5 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The thing used up is electric energy (which by itself says nothing), a useful picture might be that of a spring (or more concrete, think of one of these wind up-toys – those contain springs). The basic idea is that you wind up/expand the spring and “store energy in it” which you can then use to make the toy walk (or lift something with a mere spring). There’s no matter being used up. This is the essence of how electricity works, just that you don’t have a mechanical spring, but separated charges. In practice, it’s a little more complicated (e.g. batteries use something called a “galvanic cell” to create the power which involves some electro-chemistry), but that’s the basic idea.

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