How-to · Step-by-step
How does electricity work?
Electricity is the flow of electric charge — usually electrons moving through a conductor — driven by a voltage and travelling round a complete circuit to power devices.
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Step by step
How to do it
1.A voltage source provides the push
A battery or generator creates a voltage — a difference in electrical pressure between two points. This is the driving force that will move charge around a circuit.
2.A conductor offers a path
Wires made of conducting metals such as copper contain free electrons that can move easily. Connecting these wires gives the charge a route to travel along.
3.A complete circuit is formed
The wires, the voltage source and a device are joined into an unbroken loop. Only a complete circuit allows a continuous current; a gap or open switch stops it.
4.Current flows through the circuit
Driven by the voltage, free electrons drift through the conductor, forming an electric current measured in amperes. By convention, current is described as flowing from positive to negative.
5.Resistance shapes the flow
Every component resists the flow to some degree. As Ohm’s law states, V = IR — the current depends on the voltage and the resistance, so higher resistance means less current for the same voltage.
6.Energy is delivered to the device
As current flows through a device, it transfers electrical energy, which the device converts into light, heat, sound or motion — lighting a bulb, warming a heater or turning a motor.
Charge, voltage and current
Electricity comes down to electric charge and its movement. Matter contains charged particles — negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons — and in metals some electrons are free to move. A voltage, supplied by a battery or generator, is the difference in electrical “pressure” that pushes these free electrons along. Their organised flow is an electric current. For current to flow there must be a complete, unbroken loop called a circuit; break the loop, as a switch does, and the flow stops at once. These three ideas — charge, voltage and current — are the foundation of all electrical understanding.
Common questions
FAQ
What is the difference between voltage and current?+
Voltage is the electrical “push” — the difference in potential that drives charge around a circuit, measured in volts. Current is the resulting flow of charge, measured in amperes. A water analogy helps: voltage is like the pressure in a pipe, and current is like the rate of water flowing. Voltage causes current, given a complete circuit.
What is the difference between AC and DC electricity?+
Direct current (DC) flows steadily in one direction, as from a battery. Alternating current (AC) repeatedly reverses direction many times a second, and is what comes from mains sockets. AC is used for the grid because its voltage can be changed efficiently with transformers, making it easier to transmit power over long distances.
Why do you need a complete circuit for electricity to flow?+
Electric current is a continuous flow of charge, so it needs an unbroken loop from the voltage source, through the device, and back again. If the loop is broken — by an open switch or a cut wire — there is no complete path, the charge cannot circulate, and the current stops instantly.
Going deeper
