ELI5
What is electricity exactly and how is it caused? I hear multiple things like it’s the movement of electrons, but that doesn’t make sense to me cause electrons are always moving. Isn’t it wave energy that travels by means of electrons?
I also don’t understand Voltage visually. I understand it’s the amount of joules in a Coulomb, but what would the difference be on a small level? What would be the difference physically and visually at 1volt to 1000volts on the atomic level?
In: Physics
I just want to say that “electricity” is a very imprecise term. It is not a scientific term, it is a layman’s term. “Electricity” is a general way to refer to various electromagnetic phenomena, like sparks, light, and getting a shock when you touch a cable.
However, in science you have to use proper terms, like “current”, “voltage”, “potential difference”, “energy”, “power”, “electromagnetic radiation”, etc.
So that’s one thing, “electricity” cannot be defined exactly, because it isn’t scientifically defined. Now, if you are asking, “what is electric current?”, then that has an answer.
I only make this clarification because you are asking about different things. Current is one thing, voltage is a different thing, electrons is another thing, they are all related, but they are different. All together form the imprecise concept of “electricity”. Now you can proceed to read the other answers in this thread.
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