Electrical wires are an everyday thing, but after studying electrostatics, I am now able to better explain how they work. These are some of the wires that power my TV, DVD player, etc. Obviously, in order to power electrical devises, a charge must be carried to them. To do this, a conductor such as the copper in an electrical cord, is needed to allow the charge to flow from the outlet to the TV. The cords must be capable of handling enough current to power the TV without shorting the circuit, as happens with an overload of current.
As a little kid, whenever I unplugged something, I was always told to pull the cord out of the socket by pulling on the plastic part. This was because the plastic covering on the electrical cord "insulates" the cord and stops the charge from flowing from the copper to my hand or any other substance, and keeps people safe from electric shock.
If you have ever seen an electric shock, lightning, or some kind of electric spark, it can also be explained with electrostatics. The visible transfer of charge results in the "spark" or lightning that we see in such energy transfers. Such visible transfers are simply made by an extreme change in the electric potential of a system where a large number of charged particles are transferred to an area with less charged particles such as the ground, a lightning rod, the air, and even a person's hand. I have had many personal experiences with lightning and it is amazing to think that the enormous lightning bolt that flashes through the sky is really made up of a lot of, singularly invisible, charges.
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