Imagine, you and your child are getting ready to watch a cartoon or an educational program, lay down on the sofa, and suddenly your child asks: “What makes the TV/phone/tablet work?” It seems that the answer is simple - from electricity, but you don’t need to be Nostradamus to predict the next question that will come from a child: “Where does electricity come from?” And here many parents are stupefied, especially those who did not finish physics and mathematics, and their profession is in no way connected with this direction.
Of course, you can answer as simply as the previous question: “Electricity comes from the outlet.” But so that your child receives a complete and clear answer, in an accessible and understandable language, without abstruse formulas and definitions that most physics textbooks are written in, we suggest staying on this page and reading, perhaps not new, but useful and informative information.
What is electricity?
The word “electricity” itself, or more precisely, “electric” force, appeared more than 2000 years ago in Ancient Greece. People have noticed that if you rub amber on wool, the stone begins to attract various small objects. Amber in ancient Greek was called “electron”, hence the name itself.
But the study of the mysterious phenomenon did not progress beyond simple experiments with static electricity among the Ancient Greeks. And the essence of the whole phenomenon began to be revealed much later. Scientists have found that surrounding objects consist of elementary particles: protons and electrons. These two types of particles have an electric charge: the electron has a negative charge, but the proton has a positive charge. Attracted to each other, they closely interact and, depending on the number of protons and electrons, form atoms of different matters.
The protons themselves are located in the nucleus of the atom, but the electrons rotate around them in a circle. Atoms with the same number of protons as the number of electrons have zero charge. For example, if an amber stone lies on its own and no one touches it, then its atoms also have zero charge. But if you rub amber atoms against wool atoms, the electrons from the wool will instantly move to the amber ones, and their “excess” will make the charge negative. Such a pebble with “new strength” begins to attract small objects with a zero or positive charge, and if the object has a negative charge, it will repel them.
Electric current is an organized group of electrons
But how does electricity live in an outlet if everything is so dispersed in this circuit?
Almost all atoms can lose and gain electrons. So, if some have an excess of them, and others have a deficiency, then the electrons directed by electrical forces will rush to where they are lacking. This flow is called electric current.
Among the concepts familiar to us, electric current is similar to a river, which, spilling into many branches, powers electrical appliances. But before sending this stream of negatively charged particles, do they need to be taken from somewhere?
The best minds of the last millennium struggled with this issue, but the first to make a breakthrough was the Italian scientist Alessandro Volta, who in 1800 invented the first battery, called the “Volta Pillar,” thereby giving the world a reliable source of constant electricity. In gratitude for such a discovery, the scientist’s name was immortalized, and since that time, current voltage has been measured in volts.
History of electricity for children
Electricity
is an integral part of our life. After all, if it didn’t exist, people would not be able to use refrigerators, irons, televisions and all other common household appliances. This would make our life much more difficult. But often people don’t even think about the scale of the benefits of this magical engine of progress.
The discoverer of electricity was the ancient Greek philosopher Thales back in 7
in BC e. He noted that amber rubbed with fur or wool attracts light particles. And, thanks to this property, the ancient Greeks came up with a useful method for cleaning expensive clothes from dust. When talking about positively charged particles, amber is pronounced electron in Greek.
Of course, the main emphasis on the study of this natural wonder began during the Renaissance in the European part of the world. So 1650
The year is marked for the German physicist Otto von Guericke with the construction of the first electrical machine that produces electricity using friction.
79
later , Stephen Gray discovered the theory of the movement of electricity over a distance and divided matter into conductors and insulators, convincing everyone that electricity is not transmitted through the earth.
The Italian Volt made a revolution in 1800
by constructing a primitive direct current source called the Voltic Column.
In 20th
of the same century, the Danish scientist Oersted noted the possibility of interaction of objects at the electromagnetic level.
A year later, Ampere established the fact of the creation of a magnetic field by electric current and disproved the influence of static charges on this process. In 1830
, Gauss developed the theory of electrostatic fields. Electrodynamic laws are the result of the work of scientists Michael Faraday and the Frenchman Ampere. They spent years studying the chemical properties of current and identified their changes from the Earth's magnetic field, which creates electricity. There are also two other names in the rumor mill. These are Nikola Tesla and Benjamin Franklin. The latter proved the electrical nature of lightning and was the first to put forward the theory that human nervous impulses are of electrical origin. Tesla, who devoted his entire adult life to the study of electricity, is the author of such unique inventions as: neon lamps; x-rays and photographs; radio signals; laser beams and the famous “Tesla coil”, thanks to the powerful voltage of which televisions and computers could operate.
What is special about electricity?
It is based on charged particles moving along a conductor, a substance capable of conducting current, in a closed circuit, from a source to a device. This phenomenon is called electric current. His strength is measurable. The unit is the Ampere, named after the great French scientist Andre Ampere.
Power plants are considered to be the source of electrons. The supplier is nature itself. When coal is burned and water is passed through turbines, many electrons are generated. Then they are distributed along wires and disperse throughout the entire web of the electrical network, approaching houses, factories, and streets. The home of electrons is the battery. They are at rest until an electrical device is connected to it, setting the electrons in motion.
Thanks to the labor-intensive work of physicists, humanity gained access to electricity. Scientists spent a lot of effort and money to make this great discovery. It is important to treat electricity with care and not forget about the dangers posed by it.
Source
Where does electricity come from?
Despite the fact that the “Volta Pillar” made a breakthrough in the science of that time, over the next 200 years a lot of more global discoveries were made and many ways to produce electric current were discovered, for which huge structures were built and the latest technologies were used! And now, in order.
TPP - thermal power plant
To generate current, a turboelectric generator is installed at the thermal power plant, consisting of:
- the fixed part is a stator in the form of a bipolar magnet;
- a rotating rotor, which is wound with copper wire, since this metal is considered the best and most accessible conductor.
The continuous rotation of the magnet constantly changes the polarity (poles) causing the electrons in the wire to move, as in the example with amber and wool, only on a larger scale. But for this whole mechanism to work and electricity to be generated, “something” must spin a huge turbine. For this purpose, huge boilers are installed at thermal power plants that heat water to 450 ℃, causing it to turn into steam. Next, under high pressure, steam flows from the boiler onto the blades attached to the rotor, and starts it into operation at an incredible speed - 3000 revolutions per minute!
NPP - nuclear power plant
Here, just like in the thermal power plant, a turboelectric generator is installed, but the very dangerous, but energy-efficient Uranium-235 is responsible for heating the water. In order for it to release heat, huge nuclear reactors are built at nuclear power plants, in which Uranium-235 breaks down into small particles, which generates a large amount of energy used to heat water to steam and start a turboelectric generator.
HPP - hydroelectric power station
A safer, but no less effective way to obtain energy. Although it will require the construction of a whole chain of hydraulic structures in order to create the necessary water pressure to ensure the operation of the turbines of the electric generator. And then the principle is the same as in the previous two power plants: the rotor rotates and electricity is generated.
Wind stations
They look majestic and beautiful, and even in ancient times, with the help of the power of the wind, huge mechanisms such as windmills were put into operation.
In the modern world, they decided to improve this mechanism and use it to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. The principle is as follows: the wind pushes huge blades, which put the generator rotor into operation, and it, as we know from the example of the first three power plants, produces current.
But in this way, with the help of one wind generator, you cannot provide even a small town with electricity, which is why a whole network of huge mechanisms, consisting of 100 or more units, is installed.
A story about electricity for children
In everyday life, we often come across the concept of “electricity”.
What is electricity, have people always known about it? It is almost impossible to imagine our modern life without electricity. Tell me, how can you do without lighting and heat, without an electric motor and a telephone, without a computer and a TV? Electricity has penetrated so deeply into our lives that we sometimes don’t even think about what kind of wizard it is that helps us in our work.
This wizard is electricity. What is the essence of electricity? The essence of electricity comes down to the fact that a stream of charged particles moves along a conductor (a conductor is a substance capable of conducting electric current) in a closed circuit from a current source to a consumer. While moving, the flow of particles performs certain work.
This phenomenon is called "electric current". The strength of electric current can be measured. The unit of current measurement, Ampere, got its name in honor of the French scientist who was the first to study the properties of current. The name of the physicist is Andre Ampere.
The discovery of electric current and other innovations associated with it can be attributed to the period: the end of the nineteenth - the beginning of the twentieth century. But people observed the first electrical phenomena back in the fifth century BC. They noticed that a piece of amber rubbed with fur or wool attracts light bodies, such as dust particles. The ancient Greeks even learned to use this phenomenon to remove dust from expensive clothes. They also noticed that if you comb dry hair with an amber comb, it stands up, pushing away from each other.
Let's return once again to the definition of electric current. Current is the directed movement of charged particles. If we are dealing with metal, then the charged particles are electrons. The word "amber" in Greek is electron.
Thus, we understand that the well-known concept of “electricity” has ancient roots.
Electricity is our friend. It helps us in everything. In the morning we turn on the light and electric kettle. We heat the food in the microwave. We use the elevator. We are riding on a tram, talking on a cell phone. We work in industrial enterprises, in banks and hospitals, in the fields and in workshops, we study at school, where it is warm and light. And electricity “works” everywhere.
Like many things in our lives, electricity has not only a positive, but also a negative side. Electric current, like an invisible wizard, cannot be seen or smelled. The presence or absence of current can only be determined using instruments and measuring equipment. The first case of fatal electric shock was described in 1862. The tragedy occurred when a person came into unintentional contact with live parts. Subsequently, many cases of electric shock occurred.
Electricity! Attention, electricity!
This story about electricity is for children. But, in itself, electricity is far from a childish concept. Therefore, in this story I would like to address mothers and fathers, grandparents.
Dear adults! When talking about electricity to children, do not forget to emphasize that current is invisible, and therefore especially insidious. What should adults and children not do? Do not touch with your hands or come close to wires and electrical systems. Do not stop to rest near power lines or substations, do not light fires, or launch flying toys. A wire lying on the ground can be deadly. Electrical sockets, if there is a small child in the house, are the object of special control.
The main requirement for adults is not only to follow safety rules themselves, but also to constantly inform children about how insidious electric current can be.
Conclusion
Physicists “gave access” to electricity to humanity. For the sake of the future, scientists went through hardships, spent fortunes in order to make great discoveries and give the results of their work to people.
Let us be careful about the work of physicists, about electricity, and we will remember the danger that it potentially carries.
The fable about electricity can be viewed here
Story by: Iris Review
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A little history
The world's first public power plant, Pearl Street, was built in New York in 1882. It was designed and installed by none other than Thomas Edison. And he didn’t even charge a fee for using the generated electricity until the entire mechanism worked smoothly and without interruptions.
But the “great-grandmother” of all stations could light only 10,000 lamps, although even at that time this was something supernatural. At the same time, modern power plants produce thousands of times more, providing electricity to cities with a population of 100,000 people!
How to teach your child about electricity
Electricity surrounds children everywhere: at home, on the street, in kindergarten, in toys and household appliances - it is difficult to remember an area of human activity where we could do without electricity. Therefore, children’s interest in this topic is understandable. Although a story about the properties of electricity is not only a matter of curiosity, but also... the safety of the baby!
At 2-3 years old, a little man begins a period when he is interested in everything. What is it, why, how does it work, why is it this way and not something else, how is it used, what is useful or harmful - a million questions a day are guaranteed for mom and dad. Moreover, the sphere of interests of the “why” is extensive: he is concerned with both mundane topics (like what money is or the New Year) and sublime ones (what space is, what love is). And questions about electricity are also natural. What is current, where does it come from and where does it go when we flip the switch? Why does the light bulb glow from electricity and the TV work? How does daddy's tablet or his musical toys work without a wire to an outlet? Why is the current so dangerous that parents forbid even approaching this outlet? The options are countless! Of course, you can brush them off, saying that the child is too young to understand this topic (from the point of view of science, electricity is such a complex concept that you can talk about it no earlier than 12-14 years old). But this approach is wrong. Moreover, from the point of view of both education and safety. Even if the baby does not understand the physics of the process, he is quite capable of knowing the essence of electric current and treating it with due respect.
Electricity: bees or electrons?
So let's start with a basic question: what is electricity? When communicating with a 2-3 year old child, several approaches are possible. First: gaming. You can tell your child that, for example, small bees or ants live inside the wires, which are virtually invisible to the human eye. And when the electrical appliance is turned off, they rest there, resting. But as soon as you connect it to the outlet (or press the switch if it is connected to the network), they begin to work: run or fly inside the wire back and forth tirelessly! And from this movement of theirs, energy is generated that lights a light bulb or allows certain devices to work. Moreover, the number of such bee-ants in the wire may vary. The more of them there are and the more actively they move, the higher the current strength - which means the larger the mechanism they can start. Simply put, to make a light bulb in a flashlight glow, you need very few of these “helpers,” but to illuminate a house, you need to have a much, much larger supply of electricity. And here it is important to emphasize: although such bees work for the benefit of people, they can be seriously offended if they are treated carelessly. Moreover, the matter will not be limited to insult - they can bite painfully and painfully (and the more bees, the stronger the bite will be). Therefore, you should not climb into a socket or disassemble an electrical appliance, or touch exposed wires of connected devices - the bees may not like the fact that someone is trying to interfere with their work...
Demonstrate electric current with examples
Whatever approach you choose in a story about electricity, the following question is logical for children: why, when the device is turned on, do bees or electrons begin to move in the wire, what makes them do this? In this case, it is necessary to talk in general terms about the structure of the electrical network, and it is advisable to do this with illustrative examples from the surrounding life or using photo and video materials. Tell us that all the wires in the house converge into one cable that contains the required number of electrons/bees for housing. Then he goes out into the street and, leaning on pillars, leads to a factory where these particles are produced - such a factory is called a power plant. You can tell how they are produced (by burning coal, driven by a hydroelectric power station or wind turbines, by solar panels) if the child shows interest in this. But usually in 2-3 years the concept that there is a factory where they make “electric bees” or electrons is enough. Although no one forbids you to conduct a small but visual experiment with your child. You will need a simple dynamo: with a light bulb and a knob that turns the light on. Your little one will surely be delighted to see that he can produce electricity with his own hands! Moreover, as soon as he stops turning the handle, the light immediately goes out - very clearly and simply.
Teach how to handle electricity carefully!
Just remember: your goal is not to intimidate the child. If you go too far in this matter, there is a high risk that fear of electricity will take root in the baby’s soul. He will be terrified of it, it will be difficult for him to use electrical appliances, he will avoid them and try not to turn them on himself. It is better not to scare, but to teach accuracy and careful handling of current. Therefore, talk about the risks, but do not embellish all the details too much.
To learn how to handle electricity, pay attention to these points:
You cannot turn on any electrical appliances in the house without the permission of adults; they must know that the baby turns on and off the TV, baby monitor or other large electrical appliance;
It is unacceptable to disassemble electrical appliances, even if they are unplugged from the outlet or the child thinks that some part needs to be replaced - for example, a burnt-out light bulb in a night light;
You must immediately inform adults about any problem with an electrical appliance: if it stops working, if it starts to smell unpleasant, smoke or spark, if its body breaks or the wire breaks;
In no case should you wet an electrical appliance or wires - water, on the one hand, can damage it, and on the other hand, it is a good conductor for current, and therefore an electric shock can occur through it;
you must handle electrical appliances carefully, do not throw them or hit them, all wires must be twisted carefully, without kinks, and you must pull them out of the socket not sharply or by the wire, but smoothly and by the protective plug;
on the street you cannot approach broken wires hanging from a pole or protruding from the ground, much less touch them; it is forbidden to open the doors of transformer booths and electrical panels;
Show your child the generally accepted symbols of electricity, which should tell him that under no circumstances should he approach the objects and buildings they indicate without the knowledge of adults.
And don’t forget to prepare the apartment for your child’s curiosity. No matter how you explain safety rules to him, in any case, consciously or not, the baby will at least once try to climb into the socket, break the wire and break the electrical appliance. Therefore, various devices, from plugs to special cable mounts, are vital!
Does your child already know about the benefits and dangers of electricity?
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How does electric current enter homes?
After power plants generate current, it travels through a cable to a distribution substation for measurement and conversion. Transformers installed there increase the voltage to 10,000 volts. Thanks to this voltage, current is transmitted over long distances with minimal losses at an incredible speed of up to 3000 km per second!
Then the current flows to a step-down substation, where transformers reduce the voltage to 220 volts - the standard adopted in the Russian Federation. And then the electricity is sent to the city’s distribution networks, and from there to your house and apartment. This is the difficult path he takes to charge our phone, light a light bulb or make the refrigerator work.
How does current make electrical appliances work?
But how does current manage to power electrical devices? For a visual understanding, let's take a regular incandescent lamp as a basis and return to our small particles.
As electrons travel at incredible speeds through the light bulb's spiral, they continually collide with the metal atoms that make up the spiral. The atoms wobble and their temperature rises greatly. Thus, the electric current heats the lamp spiral to 3000 degrees, causing it to begin to glow. This is why the use of any metal is not suitable for the spiral, because it will simply melt due to the high temperature.
Modern devices - mobile phones, TVs, microwave ovens - use more complex circuits, but the principle remains the same: due to the rapid flow of particles, the atoms of the conductors heat up, which releases energy and starts the devices to work.
Not only a friend, but also an enemy!
Of course, electricity is an important and irreplaceable invention for all mankind. With its help people:
- they have made and are making a lot of discoveries every day;
- treat diseases that were fatal in the past;
- drive electric vehicles without polluting the environment with exhaust gases;
- can travel the world, learn and see sights without leaving home!
All the benefits of electricity simply cannot be described in one article!
But with all this, the current can be dangerous and in a split second take the life of any living creature.
By the way, an interesting fact. Birds that sit on high-voltage wires do not receive a shock due to the fact that they receive the same voltage as in the cable itself. The fact is that they sit only on one phase, but if suddenly the bird’s tail or other part of the body touches the ground, a pole or another wire, the current will immediately hit it.
Online lesson on the world around us “Energy”
Do you often hear the word “energy”?….. Of course! “Energy, electricity, what an energetic child...”And what is energy? Where did she come from? Where does he live? This is what we have to find out in our research...
Energy is an amazing phenomenon. Our world is saturated with it. Energy can be found in people and animals, in rocks and plants, in fossil fuels, trees and air, in rivers and lakes. Energy lifts rockets into space, propels cars, ships and planes, and lights up millions of lights in big cities. Energy gives us light, warmth, connection.
The word “energy” itself comes from the Greek language and means “action”.
Everything that moves is a source of energy: a flying ball, a goalkeeper jumping after the ball, spectators hugging with joy.
And, imagine, man made energy work for us. How? Let's figure it out...
Scientists have noticed that the use of energy always leads to some kind of action, movement, change. This observation led to the discovery of the law of conservation of energy .
Our modern life is almost impossible to imagine without electricity... Right? Tell me, how can you manage without lighting and heat in the house, without a refrigerator in the kitchen, without a vacuum cleaner, without a computer and a TV?
How can you get by in a big city without streetlights, beautiful shop windows, trams, and trolleybuses?
Electricity has penetrated so deeply into our lives that we sometimes don’t even think about what kind of wizard is helping us?
Workbook
What is electricity and where does it come from?
Count how many outlets there are in your apartment... A lot of interesting things happen in the wires... Each of them has wires through which electric current flows day and night.
Current
is the movement of charged particles (
electrons ).
How does current get into wires?
Current appears in special places called power stations .
fixup.ru
How does a power plant work? This is where nature comes to the rescue. When minerals such as coal are burned in furnaces, or water flows are passed through turbines, or gas coming from underground is used, a large number of electrons appear. They are so energetic that they are immediately sent on a journey through the wires.
They spread through electrical networks throughout the country, to factories, factories, and illuminate the streets and rooms in our homes. This occurs at a huge voltage of 110–1150 kilovolts. This high voltage is necessary so that the electric current can travel long distances. But in apartments such high voltage is extremely dangerous, so before the electric current enters our house, the voltage is reduced using transformers.
In fact, electricity travels this long journey so quickly that its movement is completely invisible to us.
There are special devices where electrons can live for a very long time, and a person releases them from there whenever he wants. This device for electrons is called batteries . They accumulate there and remain until an electrical device is connected to the battery.
How does a power plant work?
The heart of any power plant is a machine called a generator . It is driven by a special engine - a turbine. There are several types of power plants.
Power station in London
If the turbine is made to rotate by water (water flow), then it is a hydroelectric power plant (HPP). If the generator uses steam, which is formed when water is heated, then this is a thermal power plant . There are also combined heat and power plants that produce both thermal and electrical energy. The most powerful of currently existing power plants are nuclear power plants (NPPs). Electricity is produced from the energy of the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. This is a very productive, but at the same time, source of energy fraught with considerable danger.
Humanity continues to tame nature, developing new energy sources that are more economical and safe. We have already learned to use the energy of wind and sun, the energy of ocean tides and the heat of the earth’s interior for our needs.
Marine thermal power engineering
Once Captain Nemo (the hero of the novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne) said: “I owe everything to the ocean. The ocean supplies me with electricity, and electricity gives the Nautilus warmth, light, the ability to move, in a word, life! Today, scientists have realized the idea of a marine power plant that operates due to temperature differences in sea water. To operate such a power plant, a significant temperature difference is required: + 25 degrees on the surface, and + 5 degrees at a depth of 1000 meters.
The principle of operation is simple: cold sea water from the depths is supplied through a pipe to the surface, where it is used to liquefy a suitable gas, such as ammonia. Then, using warm water from the surface of the sea, this liquefied gas is heated and brought to a boil, and the resulting steam drives the turbine of an electric generator.
The creators of the new power plant say that it is universal: wind generators and solar panels work only when the wind blows or the sun shines, and the station, which converts thermal energy from the ocean, will generate energy continuously.
Energy of underground resources
Have you heard that you can use the heat of the earth to heat houses? It turns out that this is not such a rarity. It turns out that at a depth of 4-6 kilometers underground there are massifs heated to 100-200°C. By drilling a well, you can get a fountain of steam and hot water and use this gift of nature to heat buildings or power turbines of power plants. To heat houses using the heat of the earth, special equipment is used - heat pumps. Technically, a heat pump is similar to a refrigerator that works in reverse. It takes energy from the environment and concentrates it in the coolant. In the cold season, the heating mode is turned on, and in the hot season, the air conditioning mode is turned on. In Sweden today there are more than half a million of these heat pumps, and in Japan - more than 3 million.
Wind energy
Wind energy is developing even more actively today. Winds blow on earth constantly and everywhere: the reserves of wind energy on the planet are more than a hundred times greater than the reserves of hydroelectric energy of all the rivers on the planet. To produce energy from air currents, special mechanisms are used - windmills, tall pillars with giant three-bladed wind turbines. They work like a fan, but in reverse: instead of using electricity to produce wind, they use wind to produce electricity.
By the way, when talking about wind energy, we must not forget about the seas and oceans: this is where the winds blow constantly and with enormous force. The first floating wind farm recently appeared off the coast of England. And in the future, wind power plants in the oceans may appear everywhere, because on open water the wind does not encounter any obstacles - neither mountains nor hills.
Solar energy
In countries with hot climates, solar heat has long been used to generate energy. On the roofs of houses in warm countries you can often see tanks of water, which is heated by the sun's rays and provides hot water supply.
Solar power plant in Nevada
Solar panels, or photocells, are installed on the roofs and facades of houses, fully providing their inhabitants with electricity.
In Germany there is a real solar city - Freiburg, where entire areas exist solely on the alternative energy of the sun.
By the way, photocells today are installed not only on residential buildings. Miniature solar panels are used to equip street lamps that accumulate energy during the day and illuminate at night, and even cars. Today, a car that will move using energy received from a solar panel is being developed in.
How does a solar battery or photocell work?
Sunlight, like any other light, carries a charge of energy. When a beam of light hits an object, this energy is transformed into heat. The same warmth as the one we feel when sitting in the sun. This means that our body does not convert the sun's rays into electricity. But some materials have the properties of transforming light into electricity. These include crystalline polysilicon (silicon), a semiconductor used in the production of solar cells. To equip solar cells, large polysilicon crystals are specially grown. In these crystals, electrons “warmed up” by the sun begin to move in a certain direction. This is electricity. And the whole process is called photoelectric conversion.
How does a thermal power plant (TPP) work?
Thermal power plants use energy from natural fuels. It is released when coal, natural gas, fuel oil, etc. are burned. A boiler with water is installed in the machine room. When fuel burns, the water in the boiler heats up to several hundred degrees and turns into steam. Pressurized steam rotates the blades of a rotating steam turbine. The turbine, in turn, rotates a generator, which produces electric current.
How does a combined heat and power plant (CHP) work?
CHP plants simultaneously produce electricity and thermal energy (in the form of steam and hot water). The operating principle of a combined heat and power plant is similar to that of a thermal power plant. But they have one important difference. Part of the steam, after electric current has been generated from it, is used to heat water, which is sent through heat pipelines to boiler houses and heating points for heating and hot water supply to apartments, hospitals, schools and kindergartens and industrial enterprises.
How does a hydroelectric power station (HPP) work?
Hydroelectric power plants are usually built on rivers by constructing dams and reservoirs. If a river is blocked with a dam, the water level in the river up to the dam will rise. And if you open several gate-windows in the dam, water will rush into them with force and flow downstream in a powerful stream. Under high pressure, water flows onto the turbine blades, which begin to rotate, generating mechanical energy. The mechanical energy is then transferred to a hydrogenerator, which generates electricity.
How does a nuclear power plant (NPP) work?
The operating principle of a nuclear power plant is similar to the operation of a thermal power plant, but a nuclear power plant uses the energy from the radioactive decay of uranium atom nuclei to generate electricity. The fission reaction of a uranium nucleus occurs in the main unit of a nuclear power plant, which is called a nuclear reactor. The energy released in the reactor goes to a steam generator, which produces steam that goes to a steam turbine. The turbine rotates an electric generator that produces electrical energy. At the outlet of the turbine, the steam enters the condenser, where it is cooled by water coming from the reservoir or using special devices called “cooling towers”.
Power plant in space
Where to look for new energy sources? Yes, at least in space! Generating electricity in geostationary orbit, located at an altitude of 35,700 kilometers, according to scientists, can provide humanity with environmentally friendly and cheap energy. For example, Japan plans to open an orbital solar power plant by 2040.
Alternative energy sources
The further humanity moves in its development, the more relevant the use of alternative, renewable energy sources becomes. Why is humanity in search of new new sources of energy? The reasons for this are depleted natural resources and the threat of environmental disaster.
By taming the energy of the earth, water, wind and sun, we will stop polluting the environment and save valuable fossil resources. Instead of traditional energy, using oil, gas or coal as a source, today scientists are developing and power engineers are introducing alternative energy systems. Humanity is constantly discovering new sources of energy and inventing new ways to produce it. People have learned to extract energy using ocean waves and currents, warm underground sources, sunlight, and gusts of wind. Energy is produced from rice husks, chicken droppings, and banana peels. There is no doubt that in the future our descendants will completely switch to alternative energy sources and energy will become environmentally friendly and absolutely safe for nature and people.
Based on materials from myenergy.ru
Let's check that... Energy is movement, light and heat. A living being moves and emits heat. For living beings this is life. Where do they get their energy from?
1. The energy of the sun gives us heat and light. Thanks to solar energy, life arose on our planet Earth.
Study 1
In sunny weather, place a wooden block under the glass. The block has heated up. This means that the sun's heat heats the object.
2. Energy of fire. Man learned to melt metal and make glass using fire. Fire helped man make steamships and other machines move. Fire was worshiped as a deity.
Study 2
(Creative homework)
Heat a pan of water over the fire. When the water boils, look - the surrounding air has also heated up. This is heat energy, it moved from a pan of water into the air.
Cut out a snake from a sheet of paper. Light a candle and hold your snake over it.
You will see how the snake begins to spin and rise up. This means that thermal energy helps objects move.
3. Wind energy has been used for a very long time. With the help of the wind, ships sailed and mills worked. Wind farms now generate electricity.
Study 3.
In windy weather, you should take the turntable outside. The spinner will begin to rotate. This means that the force of the wind can drive the turntable.
In the room above the radiators, attach thin strips of paper and open the window. The warm air from the battery rushes upward, and the cold air from the window will begin to fall down, and the strips of paper will begin to move. This is wind energy !
4. Nowadays hydroelectric power stations are being built on large rivers, which generate energy, water energy.
Study 4.
Place an animal wheel (water mill) in a basin and pour water from a watering can onto the wheel blades.
The wheel blades will begin to rotate. This means that water can set objects in motion.
5. Electrical energy is generated by turbines. Nowadays there is electricity in every home.
Study 5.
Look at the light bulb in the table lamp, you will see a filament. If you turn on the light bulb, the filament instantly glows and the light fills the entire room.
ATTENTION! It is dangerous to touch the light bulb, it has become hot - the filament has heated it.
The lamp carries thermal energy, but it also produces light. light energy exists .
There are electrical wires in your apartment; electric current runs through them and makes electrical appliances work. Electric current is somewhat similar to a river, only water flows in the river, and small, very small electron particles flow through the wires.
We have many assistant devices, but they need to be used correctly! Electricity, with which electrical appliances operate, is dangerous for humans!!! Therefore, WE WILL NOT conduct any research with electricity!
But there is electricity that is harmless, quiet, and unnoticeable. It lives everywhere, on its own, and if you “catch” it, you can play with it in a very interesting way.
Take the ball, rub it on your hair and place it against the wall with the side you rubbed. So the ball hung.
This happened due to the fact that electricity lives in your hair, and we “caught” it when we began to rub the ball on our hair. He became electrified, which is why he was drawn to the wall. This means that electricity lives not only in wires, but also in hair. This is electrical energy .
Take an ordinary small plastic comb and rub it vigorously against your hair, and then bring it to small pieces of paper and the paper will be attracted to the comb. This means that electricity lives in the comb.
6. Power supply.
Roma always doesn’t eat porridge in the morning. He eats soup poorly and does not like to drink milk. During physical education, Roma runs slowly and often gets tired. This means that by eating vegetables, fruits, bread, milk, we gain energy. It helps us move: run, walk, breathe, live.
7. Energy also lives in non-living objects.
Study 7.
Take two balls, one light, the other heavy, and throw them along an inclined board. Place a wooden brick at the end of the board...
... The ball that was lighter could not move it, but the ball that was heavier did it easily. The heavy ball rolled faster than the light one. This means that the balls have energy of motion . The heavier the object, the faster it moves. When we move, we have movement energy that we can transfer to other objects.
Conclusions.
“Energy is a force capable of doing some work. Energy powers both machines and our bodies.”
“Energy does not disappear anywhere and does not arise from nothing, it constantly moves from one type to another.”
An interesting quest - a game with friends "Riddles of Almighty Energy" - participate.
Memo for parents and children
1. Do not insert foreign objects, especially metal ones, into the electrical outlet! Why? - Because the current, like a bridge, will cross them to you and can kill you.
2. Do not touch bare wires with your hands! Why? — An electric current flows through a bare wire not protected by a winding, the shock of which can be fatal.
3. Do not touch switched on electrical appliances with wet hands! Why? — You can get an electric shock, since water is a conductor of electric current.
4. Do not leave switched on electrical appliances unattended! Why? — Because switched on electrical appliances can cause a fire. When leaving home, always check if the lights are off, if the TV, tape recorder, electric heater, iron, etc. are turned off.
5. Do not overload electrical appliances with work! Why? – A short circuit may occur, leading to a fire.
6. Do not use faulty sockets or electrical appliances! Why? - This will lead to a fire.
The main rule for using electrical appliances for preschoolers is that you cannot turn on electrical appliances without the permission of adults and in their absence.
If you follow all these rules, then electricity will always be your friend.
And further….
How does the battery work?
A battery has two electrodes - positive (anode) and negative (cathode). Between them is a liquid electrolyte: a solution that conducts electric current well and participates in a chemical reaction. When metals begin to interact through this solution, a movement of charged particles occurs from the anode (+) to the cathode (-) - and electrical energy is generated.
In this case, the starting materials are consumed. The fewer of them left, the harder it is for the battery to maintain the required voltage between the plates. The battery is running low. This word is used to show that the battery is using up its energy. So, when a person begins to get tired, he tends to sit down somewhere.
Some batteries are single use, others can be recharged.
History of the invention of the battery
An ordinary, “disposable” battery has another name - “galvanic cell”
.
It is given in honor of the Italian scientist Luigi Galvani from Bologna.
Back in 1791, he accidentally invented the first source of electric current. The phenomenon of the generation and flow of current was discovered when strips of two different metals were attached to the frog's leg muscle. Galvani's experiments, but with greater accuracy were repeated by another Italian scientist - Alessandro Volta .
200 years ago, he formulated the main idea of the invention: the appearance of electricity is explained by the interaction of two different metals, between which a chemical reaction is formed with the help of a conductor.
Do you know that March 20, 18000 is the “battery’s birthday.”
How to create a “delicious” battery
To create the battery we needed the following materials:
- zinc plates (metal nails are possible),
- copper wire,
- fruits and vegetables,
- multimeter is a device for measuring current and voltage.
In a homemade galvanic cell, the zinc plate (nail) acts as the negative electrode and the copper wire acts as the positive electrode. The electrolyte (conducting liquid) is the juice of fruits and vegetables.
Try making a vegetable or fruit battery... from lemon, apple, orange, kiwi, potatoes, onions, beets.
You will be surprised, but fruits and vegetables provide electricity!
I recommend reading:
- 77 Effective Educational Techniques
- Our project "Energy"
- Interesting...Great people who changed the world
- What should a child know in 1st grade?
Tags: interesting research circles the world around us project
Rules for safe handling of electricity for children
Young children do not understand the dangers of handling electricity. Of course, we are now not talking about toys powered by 12-volt batteries, but about a dangerous and powerful “beast” that lives in sockets. Therefore, children should not be left near sockets without special plugs, and even without parental supervision.
For older children, it is worth having a conversation and explaining the following rules. It is forbidden:
- Place or hang foreign objects on the device cable.
- Twist the cable into knots.
- Use dirty wire.
- Use an electrical appliance near heat sources: radiators, stoves, ovens, etc.
- Plug several powerful devices into one outlet at the same time. Show your child where and how you can see the power, or make a list in advance of what you can turn on and what you can’t.
- Use or try to repair a broken electrical appliance, including if the insulation (integrity) of the cable is broken, the plug is damaged, etc.
- Handle the device or cable with wet hands.
- Pull the cord (you need to unplug the device from the outlet while holding the plug).
Unforeseen situations may also arise:
- sparks from the socket;
- smoke from a cable or device;
- burning smell, etc.
In this case, it is necessary to show the child where the electrical panel is and how to turn it off, and explain that after a power outage it is necessary to call one of the adults.
Children about electricity
Electricity is a very important phenomenon for all people. Without it, we would never be able to turn on the TV or computer, cook delicious food or make repairs in the apartment. In fact, there are a lot of interesting things going on in the wires. People can't see all the magic with their own eyes, but in fact there are tiny people living inside the wires, calling themselves electrons. These are cheerful people who live very friendly. They constantly hold hands and are in motion. And from their cheerful round dances, all the equipment in the house comes to life and begins to work.
Why does our equipment work in the home?
Electrons are tireless helpers. But their main strength is not work, but fun. They are constantly moving, playing with each other, dancing and running. They are the ones who turn the washing machine motors and heat the hair dryer. They light bulbs under our ceiling when they are having fun and playing with each other. It is their streams of kindness and smiles that descend from above into our room and make it brighter.
Where do electrons come from?
They appear in special places called power plants. Nature itself gives them to us. When coal is burned in furnaces, water streams are passed through turbines, or gas coming from underground is used, a large number of electrons are produced. But they are so energetic that they are immediately sent on a journey by wire so that they do not cause big trouble. They spread through electrical networks throughout the country, to factories, factories, and illuminate the streets and rooms in our homes. There are special houses where they can live for a very long time, and people let them out whenever they want. This home for electrons is called batteries. They accumulate there and remain until an electrical device is connected to their house. To celebrate, the little people immediately launch it and make it work. But most of all electrons appear in nuclear power plants.
Dangerous and useful wires
In order to control the rebellious little men, people created wires for them and closed them in a special shell. Direct contact of their small hands with our hands is too dangerous for health, so electricians work only with rubber gloves. And electrons love to swim to such an extent that when water gets on the wires, they immediately run to frolic in the waves. Therefore, if electrical appliances get wet, you should not touch them with your hands. They don't like people touching them, so they hit them painfully with their little hands and bite them hard. It is painful and unpleasant, and also very dangerous, because it can make us feel very bad. You won't be able to play with them, but you can let them work for the benefit of people.
Creatures are magical and useful
We need to be able to be friends with the small people who live in our house. If you don’t know how to handle it, then you can damage the whole house. Never try to touch them. Do not stick your fingers into a socket, handle wiring with wet hands, or repair electrical appliances that are not disconnected from the network. There are special craftsmen who are called electricians. In special schools they are taught how to safely communicate with electrons and know how to do it better than anyone else. If problems occur with electricity, you must definitely call an electrician and do not try to climb on your own.
Three wires and three peoples
There are three wires in the wall to each socket. Each of them is a separate country in which different people live. Electrons live in the country of Phase, they are very active and therefore they were settled separately from the calmer people in the country of Zero. But if these two wires are connected, then there will definitely be a lot of noise and sparks, because the inhabitants of Zero and Phase begin to quarrel greatly. This greatly interferes with the Grounding country, which is in the third wire. They constantly break up fights and prevent neighbors from quarreling. If there is no one to break up this quarrel, then the residents of the two countries will become very angry. They can burn household appliances and even cause a house fire. Without Grounding, a real war can begin, so its inhabitants constantly come to the rescue. So they are friendly and live together, and thanks to their cheerful life, we have electricity in our house. And this will always continue.
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