Story of Electricity (Tell Me Why #126) (Gnv64)

WHY IS AN APPLE NOT LIKE THIS?
MANORAMA
TELL ME WHY
KNOWLEDGE MAGAZINE FOR CHILDREN
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MANORAMA
TELL ME WHY
March 2017 .. Volume: 11 No: 3
FROM THE HOUSE OF MAGIC POT, THE WtEK, MAIIOAAMA YEARBOOK,
VAHITHA & THE MAlAYAlA MAIIOAAMA DAILY
The Master Servant

It is the invisible force that runs through
the veins of the modern world, making it
go. It is so much a part of our lives that its
presence is almost ever taken for grant
ed.
Electricity is a natural force that was
tamed and put to use by Man, many cen
turies ago. It is like a servant turned mas
ter. As Man's lifestyle improved, through
countless inventions and innovations,
the support of electricity became vital to
His existence. Absence of this invisible
servant would leave the present-day
world powerless and dead.
This issue of Tell Me Why tells you the
fascinating story of this vital force that
rules the modern world - Electricity.
Why is it said that the intro Electricity, therefore, has
duction of electricity been a path-breaking inno
changed the course of man vation that made life easier
kind? and more comfortable. As
There have been an indef

years passed, more inven
tions favou red by electric
inite number of inventions power were made. Hence, it
that have changed the very goes without saying that the
course of the world, making change caused by the intro
it the amazing place that we duction of electricity is
now live in. But few have unparalleled, and a life with
had as much i mpact as out it, unimaginable.
electricity.
To understand its signifi We need
cance better, one should, electricity to
rather, think back to a world operate this.
without electricity. This will
take us back to a time when
there were no equipment
like the TV, refrigerator, fan,
mixer grinder, or computer
and even worse, a time
when the world went pitch
black after dusk. Don't you
think this must have been
quite difficult?
4
What is meant by electrici
ty?
E lectricity, in its simplest

terms, is a form of energy. It
can also be associated with
the presence of electric
charge.
Electricity is usually pro
duced by converting other
sources of energies like
coal, natural gas, oil, wind,
solar, nuclear power etc.
To understand the move
ment of electric charge, one
has to firstly know about
atoms. You might have
heard of atoms already. is equal to the number of
Every matter in the Uni protons in the nucleus. The
verse- including the human charge of a proton is equal
body, air, and water- is and opposite to the charge
made up of atoms. They, in of an electron. It is also to
turn, are made of even be noted that all these con
smaller particles. At the stituents are extremely tiny.
centre of an atom, lies a In electricity the particle
nucleus, that is formed by moved is the electron which
positively charged protons, carries a charge designat
and neutrally charged neu ed as negative. In other
trons. Negatively charged words, the movement and
particles called electrons accumulation of negatively
spin around the nucleus. charged electrons in rela
The number of electrons tion to protons, create elec
moving around the nucleus tricity.
Did you know?
It was the English
scientist William Gilbert
who introduced the term
' electricity' , He is also
credited with being the
first to make scientific
observations on common charge carriers are the pos
frictional electricity, itively charged proton and the nega
towards the end of the tively charged electron, An object is
16th century, The findings negatively charged if it has an excess
were published in his of electrons.
book ' De Magnete' , As per the International System of
Why is electric charge

important?
E lectric charge is the

physical property of mat
ter.
There are two types of
electric charges:positive
and negative, Like
charges (positive and
positive, for example)
repel, and unlike charg Electrons moving around the Nucleus in
es (positive and nega different paths.
tive) attract. The most
6 Tell Me Why
Visualisation of Protons and Neutrons
at the centre and electrons moving Why was the discovery of pro
around the nucleus in an atom. tons important?
Units (SI), the unit of electric A proton is the positively

charge is cou lomb, which is charged subatomic particle
equivalent to about located inside a nucleus.
6.242x1018 e. In electrical Protons are important
engineering, the unit is seen because it is their number that
as ampere-hour (Ah), and, in determines the element (of
chemistry, it is common to use which the atom is part) and its
the elementary charge (e) as a chemical properties.
unit. To put it simply, the number
By convention, the charge of of protons in an atom, or the
an electron is -1 , while that of atomic number, defines the
a proton is +1. The quantity of type of an atom. Thus an oxy
electric charge can be meas gen atom differs from a helium
ured with an electrometer. atom on the basis of its atomic
The study of charged parti number. That number is denot
cles, and how their interac ed by the letter 'Z'.
tions are mediated by photons, The word 'proton' was
is called quantum electrody derived from a Greek word
namics. meaning 'first'. It was named
STORY OF ELECTRICITY 7
Who identified the electron?
E lectrons, as we know, are nega

tively charged subatomic particles.
They are very important because of
their role in various physical phe
nomena such as electricity, mag
netism, etc.
The history of electrons dates back
to 1 838, when Richard Laming put
forth the concept of an indivisible
quantity of electric charge to explain
the chemical properties of atoms.
Years later, in 1 89 1 , I rish physicist
George Johnstone Stoney named
J.J. Thomson this charge 'electron'. Six years after
that, British physicist J .J . Thomson
by Ernest R utherford in identified the particle. The word
1 920. One or more pro 'electron' is thought to be a combi
tons are present in eve nation of the words 'electric' and
ry nucleus. Together, 'ion'.
protons and neutrons Inside the atom, electrons are in
form what is known as constant motion, revolving around
nucleons. the nucleus.
Further, protons are
made up of invisible par
ticles called 'quarks'.
There is a strong nuclear
force that binds these
quarks with each other.
It is also the same force
that primarily contributes
to the mass of the pro
ton, rather than the
quarks themselves.
8
They possess a cer Let's see why. As we have seen ear
tain amount of energy to lier, electricity is a form of energy.
maintain distance from But electric current, on the other
the oppositely charged hand, is the movement of electric
protons inside the nucle charge.
us. Let's put it better. It is the flow of
charged particles through a medi
What is meant by elec um such as a wire. Similar to water
tric current? molecules moving down a river,
U
charged particles move down a
SUallY we talk about 'conductor' giving electric cu rrent.
electricity as current. But Conductor means anything that
are the two same? No! allows the movement of electric
cu rrent for example, metals, and
some liquids.
Electric current is measured using
a device called an ammeter. The
conventional symbol for current is I .
The intensity of electric current is
measured in terms of 'ampere',
named after the French scientist
Charged
Andre-Marie Ampere, one of the
Experiments! founders of classical electromagne
It is said that scientists tism.
in the past used electric
charges to study the
nature of electricity.
One of the earliest
instruments that helped
in generating electric
charges was the electro
static generator,
developed by Francis
Hauksbee.
STORY OF ELECTRI CITY 9

What is meant by static elec Lightning- An example of
tricity? Static Electricity
S tatic means steady, or rubbed against a piece of silk

unmoving. In physics, static cloth, a few electrons from the
electricity refers to that elec rod moves to the cloth. As a
tricity which remains steady in result, the silk material turns
a charged body. It is some negatively charged because of
thing that we come across in the excessive number of elec
our daily life. An easy example trons. At the same time, hav
could be the electricity pro ing lost electrons, the rod
duced when an object like a becomes positively charged.
glass rod is rubbed against a As the process of rubbing con-
piece of silk. Wonder how that
happens? Let's get to know. Go away,
The fact that electric current I have static
is produced by the flow of elec electricity.
trons is something we already

know by now. It is the friction
between two objects that often
result in this electron-transfer.
This is how static charge is
produced too.
Take the example mentioned
above. When a glass rod is
10 Tell Me Why
tinues, charge accumulated on the
glass rod increases, and the pool of
electrons that is formed on the other
end creates what is known as 'static
electricity'.
Why is it said that the secret of static

electricity was known to ancient Almost Everything!
Greeks?
American inventor Thom
T he Ancient G reeks tried to study it

as Alva Edison is credited
to have made more than
some two thousand years ago. The
2000 inventions, includ
man behind this attempt is known to
ing almost everything
be Thales of Miletus. He did research
that we now use in our
on the principle of static electricity.
houses related to elec
Around 585 BC, Thales conducted
tricity- switches, fuses,
many experiments related to static
electricity meters etc.
electricity, a concept which was not
conceived till then. He rubbed fur
and clothes against amber to study
more about the phenomenon.
Amber is fossilized tree sap which
is a plastic-like non-conducting mate
rial. Although he could not identify
the secret force behind it, Thales
was smart enough to see through
attraction between unlikely objects.
He could not have completed his
study due to lack of resources and
tools.
The Greek contribution doesn't
end with this incomplete study. The
very word 'electricity' has been
derived from the G reek word 'elek Thales of Miletus
tron' meaning 'amber'.
What are conductors?
Y ou may have heard about

conductors already. They are
materials that allow electrons
to flow freely from one particle
to another. The capacity to
transmit something such as
heat or electricity is termed as
conductivity. Depending on
their conductivity, solids are
Silver Bars
classified as semiconductors,
good conductors, and insula
tors. Generally, gases are consid
Objects that completely ered to be poor conductors.
allow the passage of electricity This is because their atoms
are called good conductors. are too far apart to allow free
Pure silver is perhaps the best flow of electrons.
conductor we see around. Our body is said to be a good
Some liquids are good electric conductor of electricity. That is
conductors too. why we tend to receive electric
shock from appliances or elec
tric equipment.
I'm not Insulators, on the other hand,
a conductor.
do not permit the flow of elec
tricity at all . Among the com
monly seen insulators are
IJ
glass, plastic, mica etc.
Some materials like germa
nium and silicon belong to the
category of semiconductors.
This means they conduct elec
tron flow under certain condi
tions. Otherwise, they act as
poor conductors.
Tell Me Why
" With AC, it is possible to run many
,
' \
"
. ' types of electrical equipment like
\ .-:.. generators, motors, power distribu
CURIOUS tion systems etc. and also kitchen

appliances, TVs, electric lamps etc.
fACT Hence, for almost all high power
applications, it is a global trend to
High Speed use AC instead of DC because of its
Electricity! higher efficiency. Besides these
Scientists have proved
that electricity travels at
I11------- =
the speed of light.
That would be more than
28,51,02,627 metres per
second!

What is meant by AC? Direct Current- Graphical Representation
E lectric current moves advantages over DC, AC power is

often like a water stream. believed to be less expensive. One
The only difference here can also use high voltages with small
is that electric charges currents to reduce losses, with AC
do not always move in power.
the same direction. It was in the 1 850s that the alter
When they do, it is called nating current technology first sur
Direct Current or DC. faced in Europe. One of its pioneers
On the other hand, AC is the French inventor Guillaume
or Alternating Current, Duchenne.
as the name suggests,
occurs when charge carri What is meant by the term DC or
ers in a conductor, or semi direct current?
A
conductor, reverse their
direction of movement in lternating current, as we saw,
a periodic manner. periodically reverses its direction,
whereas direct current (DC) flows
always in the same direction. The
amount of current can change in a
DC circuit, but their general direction
remains the same.
Perhaps the best and the simplest
example of direct current is a battery.
Take a look at one of them in your The Biggest Source
house. You can spot two terminals Coal is the biggest
+ve and -ve. If a wire is connected to source of energy for pro
these two terminals, it will cause a ducing electricity. Burn
flow of electrons resulting in the pro ing coal in furnaces
duction of electricity. heats water until it gen
erates steam. It is then
used to drive turbines to
produce electricity.
dynamos etc. It mainly

flows in good conduc
tors such as wire, but
can also flow through
Alternating Current- Graphical Representation semiconductors, insula-
You want
Other than this, direct current is used direct current?
as power supply for electronic sys Come with me.
tems and also for charging batteries.
DC is thus used for many purposes,
though for smaller and less complicat
ed ones, unlike AC power. But direct
current can be converted to alternating
current through devices like an invert
er or a motor-generator set.
Direct current is produced by vari
ous sources such as solar cells,
14
tors and even vacuum. However, in the course of time,
Electric current in DC alternating current took over and
is measured in ampere electric transmission became easier
and voltage in volts. than before. We have seen that this
type of current can reverse its direc
Why is it said that the tion, and serve better than DC. I n
earlier power transmis 1 884, the first long distance A C line
sions used direct cur was built in Italy, proving that AC
rent?
D irect current, as we
know, is the flow of elec
tric charge in just one
direction. The history of
electric power records
tharthe first commercial
transmission was made
possible using direct
current.
This was perhaps
because DC was the
only option then . But as An Electric Substation
time passed, it proved to
be insufficient. Because, was better for long distance trans
with direct current, volt mission.
age couldn 't be changed As years passed, newer technolo
easily. What made it gies were introduced. By the mid
worse was that, different 1 950s, an advanced type of direct
classes of loads, for current transmission was developed,
instance, lighting, and was named the high voltage
motors, railway systems direct current transmission. Today, it
etc, required different is the alternate and the most accept
voltages. So for this, able option for long distance, bulk
there had to be different transmission of electric power, espe
generators and circuits. cially between countries.
from one atom to another. It is
usually supplied by a battery or
generator.
One can observe voltage in
the electrical appliances that
we commonly use. We often
see the brightness of light
bulbs dimming. A reason for
this could be a change in volt
age. So, as the voltage increas
es, electric supply too
increases. Devices called sta
bilizers are used in most of the
domestic appliances like TV's
or fridges, to stabilize voltage.
Alessandro Volta
Why does voltage play a sig

nificant role in power trans
mission?
A ll of us have heard of the

term 'voltage' at some point.
But how many of us know what
exactly it is?
Let's try to understand with
an example. If water has to
pass through a hose, it needs A Transformer
some force from behind,
doesn't it? This force, in the Voltage is measured in units
context of electric power, is of volts, and the equipment
voltage. used for the purpose is called
So technically, voltage is the voltmeter. The term voltage
name given to the electric force was named after an Italian
that causes electrons to flow physicist Alessandro Volta.
16 Tell Me Why
seen that even at high voltages
above 1 1 0 KV, less energy is lost in
transmission . Yet another peculiarity
of AC electricity is that voltage can
easily be changed from high voltage
to low and vice versa. This in turn
makes it suitable for long distance
transmission, u nlike DC.
Alternating current is also known to
be capable of powering electric
motors. Thus, it is useful for high-end
appliances like refrigerators, televi
sions, computers etc.
Why do we use AC sup
ply in our homes?
I nitially,

CD
.
direct current '0
:s

.

:!::::
was used for power Ci ----------
E .
: Time.
transmission. It was only .
.
.
.
.
in the 1 950s that people e
realised the merits of

alternating current over AC Graphical Representation
-
the other.
Although the two are In terms of safety too, AC is pre
used today, alternating ferred to DC power.
current is more accepted It is for these reasons that most
worldwide. It is used for countries in the world favour AC than
bigger appliances as DC power.
well as in houses. Let us
see why. What is high voltage direct current?
A
One of the main rea
sons for having AC for high voltage direct current
domestic purposes is (HVDC) is a transmission system
that it causes very low that uses direct current for transmis
wastage of power. It is sion of electric power in large quanti-
ties. Or, in other words, it is a
technology used to transmit electric
ity over long distances. HVDC is also
called a power super highway, or
electrical super highway.
We have seen that alternating cur
rent is preferred to direct current for
various reasons, including financial. War of Currents
To address this, as well as other dif In the late 1880s, there
ficulties, HVDC can be used, as they was a rivalry between
are less expensive and suffer lower Thomas Edison, the
electrical losses. developer of direct cur
In this technology, electricity is rent, and Nikola Tesla,
who developed the alter
nating current. This fight
over supremacy of cur
rents is popularly known
as the War of Currents.
tance transmission of
electric power was dem
onstrated using direct
current, in Germany. In
Overhead Transmission Lines the 1 930s, the technolo
gy was further devel
transmitted through overhead trans oped in Sweden and
mission lines, or submarine cables. Germany. The modern
According to experts, the advantag form of HVDC also uses
es of HVDC include lower invest this technology.
ment cost, long distance water The Rio Madeira link in
crossing, controllability, lower losses Brazil is the longest
etc. It also causes lower environ HVDC link in the world.
mental impact compared to AC. The length of this link is
It was in 1 882 that the first long dis- 2385 kilometres.
18 Tell Me Why
Why is it said that lightning is one of
the major sources of electricity?
L ightning could be attractive to a few

and scary to others, but it is definitely a
phenomenon that stirs one's curiosity!
How many of us know that it is a power
ful burst of electricity that happens very
quickly during a thunderstorm?
Technically, lightning is caused by an
electric charge in the atmosphere. It is
known to contain millions of volts of
electricity. Lightning can occur inside,
or between the clouds.
Let's see how lightning happens.
Within the thunderclouds up in the sky,
there are bits of frozen raindrops that
rub against each other. This collision
creates an electric charge. As it contin
ues, the cloud fills up with electric
charge. On top of the clouds the posi-
19
tively charged protons form, lightning had close similari
and at the bottom, negatively ties.
charged electrons. Since One of his inventions was
opposite charges attract, this the lightning rod, a simple rod
results in a new charge build attached to the top of a build
ing up. This charge concen ing. The rod was meant to pro
trates on the ground under the tect houses from the
cloud, mostly on things that destructive forces of lightning.
stick up like mountains, tall As the electric charge from
trees, electric posts and even lightning strikes the rod, it
people. would conduct the charge
harmlessly into the ground,
saving the house and its occu
pants.
Franklin made a description
of this invention in 1 753. He is
also credited to have coined
terms like battery, conductor,
electric shock etc.
It is believed that Franklin
began his experiments on
electricity in 1 746. Two years
later, he created a multiple
plate capacitor which he called
an electrical battery. The
capacitors were wired together
sequentially to store more
Benjamin Franklin charge than one alone could.
This helped to produce a big
Why is it said that Benjamin ger discharge of static electric
Franklin studied electricity a ity. For his contributions to the
great deal? study of electricity, Benjamin
B
Franklin received the Royal
enjamin Franklin firmly Society's Copley Medal in
believed that electricity and 1 753.
20 Tell Me Why
larities. To prove this, he went
out with his son on a dark after
noon on June 1 0th, 1 752. They
attached a silk string to the
kite, and tied an iron key to its
end. Then, they tied a thin met
al wire from the key, and insert
ed it into something called a
Leyden jar, a container for
storing electrical charge.
Franklin's idea was to fly the
kite into the storm-clouds and
conduct electricity down the
string. Later, when lightning
struck the kite, Franklin moved
his hand towards the key.
Guess what happened? A
Benjamin Franklin's Kite Experiment spark formed, and Franklin felt
A Painting a shock. But luckily for Frank
lin, he was standing on an
Why was Benjamin Franklin's insulator, keeping dry under a
kite experiment an important
one? Didn't expect
B
this much high
enjamin Franklin conduct voltage!
ed the famous kite experiment
in Philadelphia, USA. The
experiment was done to under
stand the 'mystery' behind
lightning and electricity. Let us
see how it took place.
The inspiration for the kite
experiment came from Frank
lin's conviction that lightning
and electricity had close simi-
-
roof, to avoid the danger Eels are freshwater predators
of electric shock. found in the shallow, muddy areas of
However, with this the Amazon and Orinoco rivers in
dangerous experiment, it South America. They often live in
was proved that lightning stagnant waters.
was electrical in nature. They possess enormous amounts
of electricity that can possibly knock
Why is it said that elec off a large horse, or even kill humans.
tricity can be found in It is said that the electric discharge
some fishes? from eels can be stronger than 500
E
volts. They are also known to have
lectric charge is
something that is seen
everywhere in the Uni
verse- even inside living
things. Some fishes, for
instance, have a surpris
ing amount of electricity
in them- like the electric
eel.
Electric Eel
around 6000 cells called electro

plaques that can produce electricity.
Since eels have very poor eyesight,
Lightning Facts they emit weak electric signals for
The fear of lightning is navigation to find a mate or prey. But
commonly known as when they spot a prey, strong shocks
astraphobia, something are given to stun them.
which many of us have. Other than eels, many fishes
The science of lightning including sharks, lampreys, and cat
is called fulminology. fishes have the ability to generate
electric fields around them.
22 Tell Me Why
Why is it said that our body
has electricity in it?
J ust like the curious case of

electric eels, the human body
too produces electric signals.
Did you know that? Well, eve
rything that we do is made
possible and controlled by
these signals running all
through our body.
We already learnt that every
object in the u niverse is made
up of atoms, and so is our But since there is so much of
body. The flow of electrons in it electric charge jumping around
is what we call electricity. in the body, do not think of it as
Let's take an example. When a power house! Scientists hold
the brain orders our hand to that the human body can gen
hold a doorknob, or touch a erate only 1 0 to 1 00 millivolts
book, there is electricity carry of electric charge. Quite
ing messages from one point strange, isn't it?
to another. But unlike an elec
tric circuit, these electrons in
our body are not travelling
along a wire. Instead, the elec
tric charge jumps from one cell
to another in a very fast man
ner until it reaches its destina
tion. In short, everything in the
human body depends on elec
trical signals. Hence, a break
down in the system can have
serious impacts, including cre
ating heart problems, and
even strokes.
STORY OF ELECTRICITY
Why is it said that the
My God, it
ECG and EEG are two didn't have a
important equipments brain!
used for measuring
electricity in the human
body?
ECG and EEG are

two terms we often hear
in medical contexts.
An EEG or electroen
cephalogram is related
to one's brain, and an
ECG or electrocardio
gram, to one's heart.
An EEG is a tool for measur period gets recorded. Through
ing the brain 's electrical activi this test, doctors can confirm if
ties. It is a test to check the the person has any problems
patterns and location of electri related to brain activities.
cal activities happening in the Electrocardiography on the
brain . Small metal discs with other hand, is the process of
wires are stuck to our head to recording electrical activity in
send signals to a computer. As one's heart over a period of
the test goes on, the brain's
electrical activity over that Electrocardiogram
- tI-UooI2
II: -
_It: !lU.
l ...,
IS 101: ....
T_
I iI
24 Tell Me Why
time. For this test, electrodes hour. It happens in the same
or metal tabs are fixed to the place, and in clear skies, with
skin- on the shoulders, chest, out a sound. This spot was
wrists and ankles. As the test thus declared a World Herit
begins, the electrodes detect age Site by the UNESCO.
tiny electrical changes on the Luckily, Catatumbo lightning
skin that arise from the heart is not destructive like others.
muscle's functioning, due to Rather it is helpful . Catatumbo
the heartbeat. lightning provides a spectacu
Through the electrocardio lar sight. Scientists say that
gram, the doctor gets to know this natural phenomenon is
more about the heart and its
health.
Why is Catatumbo lightning

regarded as a strange phe
nomenon?
L ightning is not always a

scary phenomenon. At least
for the people in Venezuela, it
isn't. This is because of the
Catatumbo lightning, or the
everlasting storm that they
have almost everyday! EEG
Technically, Catatumbo
lightning, is an atmospheric responsible for about 1 5 per
phenomenon that happens in cent of ozone production on
Northern Venezuela, where Earth. Hence, the native peo
the river Catatumbo meets ple are very proud of it.
with Lake Maracaibo. Although the reasons behind
The peculiarity of this light Catatumbo lightning are still
ning is that it appears 260 debated, some experts believe
nights a year, 1 0 hours per it could be a result of methane
day, and up to 280 times per from Lake Maracaibo.
Why is ball lightning a strange
electrical phenomenon in
nature?
B all lightning is an unex

plained natural phenomenon
that happens very rarely. It
appears as a glowing ball dur
ing thunderstorms, following a
lightning strike. It is said that
these fireballs shine too bright
ly, and can be white, blue, yel
low, orange, or red in colour.
They vary in size and form ;
from that of a pea, to the size theories talking about the
of a small bus. same. Even though there are
Accounts of ball lightning many explanations for this
have been recorded for the phenomenon, none is accept
past few centuries. According ed widely.
to witnesses, these fireballs
move in an u npredictable and
fast manner, followed by
smoke that forms spirals
around them. Believe it or not,
they can even enter buildings
through doorways or windows,
travel down corridors, and
even navigate their way to cer
tain points. They make hissing
noises and sometimes, loud
ones too. And all of a sudden,
they disappear.
The reason behind the for
mation of ball lightning is Sighting of Ball Lightning
unknown, and there are many
26 Tell Me Why
atmosphere. Appearing like fire, the
spectacle of St. Elmo's fire is seen
mainly on tall and pointed structures
like lightning rods,chimneys, aircraft
wings etc. The glow comes along
with a sound, because of which it is
Greek Philosopher often confused with ball lightning.
Thales of Miletus is Let's put it clearly with the same
known to be the first example of a ship. There is a differ
person to conduct an ence of voltage in the atmosphere
experiment on electricity and the sea. This causes the ioniza
obtained by rubbing piec tion of gases surrounding the ship's
es of amber. He did this masts, which in turn, results in a
around 600 Be. glow. This is what the sailors mis
took as a miracle during thunder
storms.
What is St. Elmo's fire?
The first account of St. st. Elmo's Fire
Elmo's fire surfaced a

few centuries ago, when
sailors spotted a bright
glow around their ships
during thunderstorms.
They believed it was
something supernatural,
and this belief continued
to be so until scientists
came up with their find
ings.
In fact, St. Elmo's fire
is a phenomenon that is
similar to lightning. It is a
form of plasma caused
by potential difference in
In most cases, sprites are
witnessed by those in flight
above storms. But si nce they
appear for a very short time,
the spectacle is often
missed!
This phenomenon is known
to have been occurring for
centuries- it's just that no one
could really record it. In July
1 989, scientists at the Univer-
Why are sprites another

strange electrical phenomena
in nature?
Sprites are a natural phe

nomena that is related to elec
tricity. They occur above
thunderstorm clouds, giving
rise to a variety of visual
shapes that glow in the night
sky. Scientists believe that
sprites h appen when neutral
ly charged clouds discharge
Colour Image of a Sprite
some electricity to the
g roun d .
In short, sprites are rare, sity of Minnesota accidentally
large scale electrical discharg caught a sprite on camera.
es, occurring above thunder Years later, on April 30th, 201 2
storm clouds that appear as some astronauts captured a
attractive visuals. Sprites have red flash of sprite, which was
a reddish-orange colour in the then used by researchers and
upper region and bluish ten people across the world, to
drils that hang below. study and research.
28 Tell Me Why
Why is an aurora considered to be
the most fantastic electrical phe
nomenon on Earth?
An aurora is a display of coloured

lights that occur naturally in the night
sky. It is mainly seen in high latitude
regions like the Arctic and the Ant
arctic.
When they happen in the northern The sewing machine, fan,
latitude, the effect is also called the kettle, and toaster were
Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. the first four domestic
When it occurs in the southern lati items to be powered by
tude, it is referred to as the Southern electricity.
Lights, or Aurora Australis.
Scientists and witnesses say that
auroras mostly appear like curtains to one of the theories,
that extend in the east-west direc the effect is caused by
tion. They also happen to be the charged particles from
brightest, and the most distinctive the sun that interact with
kind. the Earth's atmosphere.
Depending on the altitude, they Many myths and leg
shine in different colours, including ends are also built
blue, violet, red, bright green, ruby around the presence of
red etc. auroras.
Reasons behind the formation of
auroras are still debated. According Aurora
Why is it said that a battery is source of electricity, and still
the most popular source of continue to serve this purpose.
electricity? There are batteries in differ
A
ent shapes. Some are very
battery is a device that small, like the ones used in
stores electricity in chemical wristwatches, or smart phones,
form inside a closed-energy and some are as big as those
system . used in cars and trucks. At the
Long before the invention of extreme, there are huge bat
electrical generators and grids tery banks that are the size of
batteries proved to be the main rooms.
All batteries have three
I have a parts- an anode (the negative
light weight side), a cathode (positive side)
mobile.
and an electrolyte, a liquid or
gel that contains electrically
charged particles called ions.
When connected to an exter
nal circuit, the ions interact
with the other two, and a
chemical reaction takes place
inside the battery.
This reaction results in the
generation of electric current.
This is how batteries function
Tell Me Why
and provide electric power to all
appliances in our house including
mobile phones, laptops, flashlights
etc.
Why is it said that there are two

types of batteries? Th 0 e
B atteries can be broadly divided Iceland is the only coun

try in the world where
into two- primary and secondary. electricity is produced
Primary batteries are single-use entirely by renewable
batteries- that is, they can be used sources.
only once. After that, they should be
discarded. They cannot be
recharged. Quite a few non-recharge secondary batteries.
able batteries are used in our daily Through electric current,
life. This includes batteries used in these batteries can be
toys, radios, remote controls, flash recharged.
lights, clocks etc. Secondary batteries
Those batteries that can be can be seen in many
recharged and reused are called devices including cell
phones, MP3 players
etc.
Yet another example
can be seen in cars and
trucks. Did you know
that there is a lead-acid
battery that works every
time we start a car? This
is how the car gets ener
gy to run the lights and
radio when the engine is
not running. The battery
in the car is recharged
while we drive.
Besides lead-acid, there are other
batteries that can be recharged. This
includes the nickel-cadmium battery,
lithium-ion battery, nickel-metal
hydride batteries etc.
Why is it said that the history of the

battery is interesting?
B atteries are devices that have

been helping mankind for a long
time. But nobody knows exactly
when they were invented. Luigi Galvani
An account of the earliest battery
came in 1 938 from Baghdad. The water. He connected
story goes that while constructing a wires to either end of the
railway line in the city, workers stack.
uncovered a pre-historic battery. To his surprise, it pro
Experts said that the battery belonged duced stable current.
to the Parthian Empire, and was at Thus in 1 800, Volta
least 2000 years old!
Luigi Galvani, in 1 786, was con
ducting an experiment when he acci
dentally touched a dead frog's legs
with two different metals. Suddenly
the muscles of its legs contracted.
He thought it was because of 'animal
electricity'. But his friend and fellow
scientist Alessandro Volta didn't
agree. He guessed that the same
effect would be produced if card
board was soaked in salt water,
instead of a frog's leg. So, he stacked
copper and zinc discs, separated by
a cloth, and soaked them in salt
32
was an electrochemical cell devel
oped by the English chemist John
Daniell in 1 836. The cell offered a
long-lasting source of power.
Let's see how the cell works. Dan
iell cell, consist of a copper pot filled
with a copper sulfate solution, in
FACT which was immersed an unglazed
Nickel Cadmium earthenware container filled with sul
furic acid and a zinc electrode. The
"n at e ies earthenware barrier which is porous,
It is said that a nickel allows ions to pass through, but
cadmium rechargeable keeps the solutions from mixing.
cell phone battery is This cell produces current like a
capable of polluting voltaic cell does, but with more effi
6,00,000 litres of water. ciency. It soon became the industry
That is, three such bat standard for use. A voltage of over
teries can pollute an one volt is produced by a Daniell cell.
Olympic pool! To get a little more voltage, one has
to increase the concentration of the
solution in which the electrodes are
invented the 'voltaic dipped.
pile', the first true battery
that produced continu Daniell Cell
ous and stable current.
This is believed to have
laid the foundation for
the modern battery.
Which is the first practi

cal-purpose battery?
The Daniell cell is per

haps the first practical
purpose battery ever. It
What is meant by electromag well as repulsion, of electrical
netism? ly charged particles.
E
There are two basic con
lectromagnetism is a basic cepts behind electromagne
force of nature. It is the crea tism. The first one is that, any
tion of a magnetic field from moving charge produces a
the movement of electrical magnetic field because of its
charges. movement. The second one is
The basic characteristics of that, a moving magnetic field
this force can be best defined
through the example of a cop
per wire. When electric current
is allowed to pass through the
wire, it can attract, or magnet
ize pieces of iron or steel near
it. That is, the electromagnetic
force causes the attraction, as
Help
me ...
An Electric Motor
can cause current to flow into a

conducting loop. This means,
if there is a moving bar magnet
near a coil of wire that is con-
nected to a meter, it can detect
the current flow.
34 Tell Me Why
Why is the history of the elec pass needle moved. Orsted
tromagnetic theory interest was surprised, and kept work
ing? ing on this for months to study
T
how it happened. However, he
he history of electromagne was not successful.
tism cannot be complete with But this experiment was
out a few names. Let's take a taken further by another phys
look at a few of them. icist in France named Andre
In 1 820, Hans Christian M arie Ampere. Through h is
Hans Christian Orsted Andre-Marie Ampere Michael Faraday
Orsted, a professor at the Uni study, he found out that wires

versity of Copenhagen, with parallel currents attract
arranged an experiment for his each other, whereas those
students. He wanted to explain with anti-parallel current
the heating of a wire by an repel . He concluded that elec
electric current, and his exper tricity can be governed by two
iments on magnetic property. sets of forces- electric and
For this, he used a compass magnetic.
needle mounted on a wooden A few years later, Michael
stand. Suddenly, he noticed Faraday and Joseph Henry
that every time the electric cur independently found out that it
rent was switched on, the com- is possible to produce current

A Maglev Train Why is it said that many of the phe
nomena that we witness in our daily
in a conductor by chang life can explained by electro magnet
ing the magnetic field ic force?
E lectromagnetism is a phenome
around it. This theory
helped in laying the
foundation of modern non that works behind almost all
day electricity. forces on Earth. Perhaps the only
However, earlier elec
tricity and magnetism Good news!
were seen as two differ Electromagnetism
ent properties. It was in exists.
1 865 that James Max
well published his work
'A Dynamical Theory of
the Electromagnetic
Field', demonstrating the
connection between the
two forces.
36 Tell Me Why
speaker. It is the electromagnetic
force that is responsible for the
movement of the coil inside. This in
turn, results in the production of
sound that can be heard over a long
distance.
In the same way, almost all appli
FACT ances that we use in our daily life,
Maglev including motors, gadgets, TV, radio,
Magnetic levitation or
computers, work on the principle of
Maglev trains function
electromagnetism.
on very strong electro
In short, all forces involving inter
magnets that carry the
action between atoms can be
explained in terms of electromagne
train on a cushion of
magnetic repulsion.
tism that occurs between the electri
cally charged atomic nuclei, and
electrons of the atoms.
exception is gravity. Its

influence is such that
experts believe modern
life is run through the
electromagnetic phenom
enon. Let's try to under
stand what this means.
Take the case of an
electric fan. Its motor
Diagram of the Magnetic field created by
works on the principle of Electricity
electromagnetic induc
tion, which keeps it rotat What Is an electromagnet?
A
ing on and on. This in
turn, makes the blade n electromagnet is a device that
hub of the fan to rotate, can create a magnetic field if elec
blowing air. Another tricity is allowed to pass through it.
example is that of a loud We can understand it better by
comparing it with an ordinary
magnet. In normal magnets,
magnetic power is always pre
sent. But in electromagnets,
the magnetic power or field,
depends on electricity . It can
be turned on or off, using a
switch . Likewise, the strength
of these electromagnets can
also be increased by increas
ing the amount of electric cur
rent.
There are different parts for
an electromagnet. It consists
of a coil of wire, made mainly
of copper, and a piece of met
al. The wire should be wrapped
William Sturgeon's Electromagnet
around the metal piece. When
electric current is allowed to

flow into the wire, a magnetic
field is created around the
coiled wire, and the metal gets
magnetised. This is how an
electromagnet is created.
In the Right Way Today, almost all equipment
that we use, have electromag
According to Fleming's
nets in them.
right-hand rule, if one holds his
right thumb, first finger and
Why is it said that the intro
middle finger at 900to
duction of electromagnets
each other, the middle fi nger
was interesting?
will indicate the direction of
the induced current.
The first recorded discovery
about the relation between
38 Tell Me Why
electricity and magnetism was net. He used an insulated wire,
made by Hans Christian and placed thousands of turns
Orsted in 1 820. of wire on a single core. This
During an experiment, he made a big change! With this
noticed that the needle on his attempt, electromagnets
compass pointed to a different gained more popularity.
direction, when a battery near
it was turned on.
In 1 824, William Sturgeon
invented an electromagnet. It
was made of a horseshoe
shaped piece of iron, wrapped
with copper wire. He found out
that when current was passed
through the wire, it attracted
the pieces of iron, and when
the electric flow stopped, the
magnetisation ended too.
By the 1 830s, the US scien
tist Joseph Henry improved
the design of the electromag-
James Clerk Maxwell
Something
happened to this
compass. What is meant by electromag
netic radiation?
T here are different waves of

light and energy that move
around us.
They come in the form of
heat in the atmosphere, or
radiation from space, or in any
other form. These energy
waves are commonly known
related to electromagnetism
was put forward by a few sci
entists in the past. The exist
ence of electromagnetic waves
was first predicted by the Scot
tish physicist James Clerk
Maxwell. In his electromagnet
ic theory that he put forth in
1 864, he said that light is an
electromagnetic disturbance
in the form of waves.
A few years later, German
physicist Heinrich Hertz
applied Maxwell's theories to
prove the existence of electro
Heinrich Hertz magnetic waves.
as electromagnetic radiation. What is electromagnetic

They have electric, as well as induction?
I n its simplest terms, electro

magnetic characteristics.
The scientific definition given
to this by experts goes as fol magnetic induction can be
lows - the energy that is propa defined as the process where
gated through free space or a a conductor placed in a chang
material medium in the form of ing magnetic field causes the
electromagnetic radiation. production of voltage across
Other than visible light, elec the conductor. This, in turn,
tromagnetic radiation includes causes or 'induces' an electric
radio waves, microwaves, current.
infrared waves, ultraviolet rays Many electrical devices that
X-rays, and gamma rays. They we see daily work on the prin
are classified on the basis of ciple of electromagnetic induc
their frequencies or wave tion. A common use of this can
lengths. The fact that the elec be seen in electrical genera
tromagnetic radiations are tors, transformers, induction
40 Tell Me Why
stopped moving. From this,
Faraday made a few observa
tions. The most important one
was that the induced voltage is
the result of a changing mag
netic field.
In other words, Faraday dis
covered a way to produce
electrical current by using the
force of a magnetic field.
The voltage induced is
known as the electromotive
force, or emf.
Faraday's findings led to a
law linking electricity and mag
netism known as the Fara
Michael Faraday
day's Law of Electromagnetic
Induction.
cookers, musical instruments
etc. The concept of electro
magnetic induction was put Okay,
forth in the early 1 830s by the It's working.
English physicist Michael Far
aday.
He conducted many experi
ments to study the idea. In one
of it, he used a coil of wire, a
permanent magnet and a
device to detect voltage in the
wire. When Faraday passed
the magnet through the coil of
wire, he saw there was a volt
age induced, and therefore
current too. But it soon disap
peared when the magnet
STORY OF ELECTR IC ITY
Why is it said that Thales and attracted light objects such as
of Miletus played a d ry leaves, or bits of straw. Even
major role in the history though other people may have
of electricity? noticed this before, it was Thales
Thales of Miletus is an
who first recorded his findings. But
Thales have never identified it as
important figure in the static electricity. At that time magnet
history of electricity. It is ism was also confused with static
said that he discovered electricity.
Later, it was proved that the force
that work between amber and animal
fur is nothing but static electricity.
Thales' role was remarkable because
he was the first to record his findings
regarding static electricty. Thales
was born in the city of Miletus around
the mid 620 BC. He was a philoso
pher, and astronomer and the one
who conducted the earliest studies in
electricity. Thales' findings were
recorded but none of them survived
to modern times.
Thales of Miletus Why is it said that the machine which

produced static electricity for the
static electricity around first time was a turning point in his
600 BC. tory?
O
Static electricity was
first observed when tto von Guericke was a German
amber, rubbed with ani scientist, and inventor who lived
mal fur, got charged, between 1 602 and 1 686.
42 Tell Me Why
He is credited to have made
many inventions at a time when
there were not many resourc
es to refer to. One of it is the
electrostatic generator, known
to be the first one ever made.
It was described as a huge
sulphur ball, mounted on a
pole inside a glass globe. With
the help of a hand crank, the
ball was rotated. As a result,
the ball rubbed against a pad,
generating sparks. This was
static electricity, a phenome
non which they could not iden
tify then . But the device
became famous, and was used for later experiments with
electricity.
In 1 672, Guericke found out
that electricity produced
through his earlier experiment
could cause the surface of the
sulphur ball to glow. The con
cept of electrostatic repulsion
was demonstrated for the first
time in history through Guer
icke's book.
Why did the relay make histo

ry?
T he simplest definition for

the relay is that it is an electri
Otto von Guericke cally operated switch. The
device is used where it is nec-
essary to control a circuit by a The relay was invented in
low-power signal or where a 1 835 by Joseph Henry. He
number of circuits have to be created it in order to improve
controlled by one signal. his version of the electrical tel
Relays are controlled by elec egraph.
tric current, magnetism or tem Relays are used for many
perature. There are two types purposes. Their application
of relays- electromechanical can be seen in digital comput
and solid state. In the former, ers, telephone exchanges,
contacts are opened and and automation systems.
Why is it said that Stephen

Gray played a major role in the
history of electricity?
S tePhen Gray was an Eng

lish astronomer who made sig
nificant contributions to
science. These include his
experiments with conduction,
insulation, and electrostatic
induction.
One of his experiments was
done using a glass tube. G ray
Joseph Henry observed that when the glass
was rubbed with a dry hand or
closed using a magnetic force. dry paper, it obtained electric
With solid state relays, switch charge. As a result, it attracted
ing is done electronically. a feather to the glass, as well
Electromechanical relays as the cork with which it was
are general purpose relays. closed. The cork was in fact,
They are more common used to keep the dust out when
because they have lower cost, not in use.
and can switch from AC or DC From the experiment, Gray
with equal ease. concluded that the 'attractive
44 Tell Me Why
virtue' is passed from the tube
to the cork.
To clear his doubts, Gray
proceeded with a similar
experiment. This time, he
attached an ivory ball to a
piece of wood, and inserted
the other end of the wood into
the cork. Once it was done, he
confirmed that attraction and
repulsion passed to the ball,
that too stronger than that on
the cork.
Gray observed that sub
stances like silk do not conduct Stephen Gray
electricity. And that Earth was
somehow responsible for conducting electric charge away
from the body.
I think this
For his electrical experi
lollipop is a better ments , Stephen Gray received
conductor. the first Copley Medal institut
ed by the Royal Society, in
1 731 . However most of his
works went unacknowledged,
and he died as a poor man.
Why was the introduction of

Leyden jars a milestone in his
tory?
A Leyden jar was the first

device that could store electric
charge. It was a glass jar with
metal foil wrapped to its inside
and outside surfaces. The jar
would be partly filled with in the water inside the jar. In
water, and had a wire running the 1 700s, Benjamin Franklin
into it through the top part of studied much about this and
the jar. proved that charge was stored
There are two names in the glass. Hence, the later
involved with the invention of versions of Leyden jars had
just metal foil wrapped inside
and outside the glass.
Technically, a Leyden jar is
the prototype of the modern
day capacitor which are used
in almost all electronic equip
ment today.
Why was the invention of the

lightning rod a major break
through?
B enjamin Franklin invented

the lightning rod in 1 749. A
Benjamin Franklin lightning rod is a metal rod
the jar. One is Ewald G. von

Kleist, a German inventor who
is said to have accidentally
created it in 1 745. The other is
Pieter van Musschenbroek of
Leyden, Holland, who 'discov
ered' the same thing in 1 746. nee
The latter invention spread Resistance refers to the
through the world quickly, and measure of difficulty involved
thus Pieter gained more popu in passing an electric current
larity for the invention. through a conductor.
At first, it was thought that
the electric charge was stored
46 TeLL Me Why
through the building or tree.
Thus, the structure can be
saved from electrocution.
Historians say that lightning
rods were used in ancient
times, and were particularly
seen in the Sri Lankan king
dom of Anuradhapura, thou
sands of years ago. However,
in the modern age, it was Ben
jamin Franklin who introduced
the idea to the world. His aim
was to create a tool that could
save people from the dangers
of the natural phenomenon.
Through a series of experi
ments including the famous
one using kite, he created the
A Lightning Rod
'Franklin rod'.
mounted on top of elevated

structures like a building, tree,
ship etc.
It is electrically bonded with
a wire with the ground or 'earth'
through an electrode. Such an
object protect a structure while
lightning strikes. The idea
behind it is that when lightning
hits the building or tree, it will
strike the rod.
As a result, the electric pow
er from lightning will be con
ducted to the ground through
the wire, instead of passing
electrical energy into mechani
cal energy by means of elec
tromagnetism. The motor he
created through the experi
ments was primitive, but it
paved the way for later inven
tions. In 1 822, British physicist
Peter Barlow invented the first
device to be powered by elec
tromagnetism- known as Bar
low's Wheel.
Moritz Jacobi

the electric motor important?
A n electric motor is a device

that converts electrical energy
into mechanical energy. It
An Electric Motor
works on the principle of elec
tromagnetism.
The first electrical motor is A decade later, British scien
known to have been invented tist William Sturgeon devel
by a Scottish monk Andrew oped the first machine to be
Gordon, in the 1 740s. His run on direct current. A few
motor was a simple electro years after that, inventor Moritz
static device. Jacobi created the first real
Almost a century later, Brit rotating electric motor that
ish scientist Michael Faraday developed a remarkable
explained the conversion of mechanical output power.
48 Tell Me Why
Frank Julian Sprague was the
first to introduce a constant
speed electric motor.
All these have together con
tributed to the advancement of
engineering technology in the
world.

the fuel cell a milestone?
F uel cells are devices that

generate electric current
through chemical reactions.
To put it better, a fuel cell uses
chemical energy of hydrogen William Grove
(or another fuel) to produce
electricity in a clean and effi have lower emissions. That is,
cient manner. Its only products they do not emit dangerous
are electricity, heat, and water, substances like carbon dioxide
and hence it is clean. or air pollutants, as their only
There are a wide range of products are water and heat.
applications for which fuel Yet another advantage is that
cells can be used.
This includes Let's forget
t r a n s p o r t at i o n , a1l power problems.
Use this fuel ce1l.
emergency pow
er back up, mate
rial handling etc.
Compared to oth
er technologies,
fuel cells have
many advantag
es. They are more
efficient, and
fuel cells operate in a silent
manner.
The history of fuel cells
began with the Welsh physicist
Sir William G rove. In 1 839, he
demonstrated the first crude
fuel cells. Although many peo
ple have tried to work on the
concept of converting chemi
cal energy into electric power,
most of them were unsuccess
ful due to lack of resources.
The first successful fuel cell
was developed by the British
engineer Francis Bacon in
1 932, using hydrogen, oxy
gen, an alkaline electrolyte
and nickel electrodes.
William Stanley
Why is it said that the inven

tion of the transformer was a
turning point?
e W'z d A transformer is an electrical

Most of Edison ' s inventions device that works on electro
occurred in his laboratory in magnetic induction to transfer
Menlo Park. In 1 878, he electrical energy between two
named the lab the ' Invention or more circuits. It is used in a
Factory' . This great scientist wide range of power applianc
himself came to be known as es to increase, or decrease
' the wizard of Menlo Park'. voltage.
We see transformers in
almost every city. They are
50 Tell Me Why
used to convert high switch, depending on the need.
voltage electricity from As an amplifier, a transistor does
incoming power lines, to the job of boosting current. That is, it
lower-voltages. takes in a tiny input current at one
The first known trans end and produces a bigger output
former was developed in current at the other end.
the 1 880s. Since then It was at the Bell Laboratories in
the device has played a New Jersey that transistor was dem-
key role in transmission
of power. There are
mainly three names
involved with the inven
tion of transformers
Otto Blathy, Miksa Deri
and Karoly Zipernow
sky. They are known to
have designed the first
transformer in the early
1 880s. The first reliable
commercial transformer
was built in 1 885 by Wil
liam Stanley. Since then
the device has played a
A Replica of the First Transistor
key role in the transmis
sion of power.
onstrated for the first time. That hap
Why is the introduction pened on December 23rd, 1 947.
of the transistor a major William Shockley, John Bardeen and
turning point in history? Walter Brattain are the three persons
To put it simply, a tran

credited with its invention.
In 1 956, they were awarded the
sistor is an electronic Nobel Prize in Physics ''for their
component that can do researches on semiconductors and
two different jobs. It can their discovery of the transistor
act as an amplifier or a effect".
so, carbon deposits were seen
inside the bulb after hours.
That was when he noticed that
the carbon came from the end
of the filament which was
attached to the power supply.
It looked as though it was fly
ing through a vacuum onto the
walls!
Edison realised that there
was electric charge flowing not
just through the filament, but
through the evacuated bulb as
well.
Although Edison was right
about the flow, he could not
find the reason behind it. He
Thomas Alva Edison
moved on to other experi
ments.
Why is the Edison effect an Later, it was proved that Edi
important milestone in histo son , with his experiment, dis
ry? covered the basis of the
I
vacuum tube. And the modi
n one of his experiments, fied light bulbs were later used
Thomas Alva Edison discov to control the flow of electrons
ered that electrons can flow through vacuum.
from one metal conductor to
another, through a vacuum. Why is it said that the amplifier
This discovery was later and triode changed the history
named as the Edison Effect. of electricity?
A
Sometime in the early 1 880s,
Edison and his team were n electronic amplifier is a
working to find a light bulb fila tool that can amplify or increase
ment. Their carbonised bam the power, current, or voltage
boo filament did well, but even of a signal. It could be either a
52 Tell Me Why
signals. It is a fundamental
form of vacuum tube devel
oped by the American inventor
Lee De Forest. He had only a
little understanding of how the
tube worked.
However, the discovery rev
olutionised electrical technolo
gy, and laid the foundation of
electronics. It also made pos
sible radio broadcasting, talk
ing motion pictures, and
countless other applications.
Lee De Forest
separate piece of equipment,

or an electrical circuit within
another device, but in general,
amplifiers are used in almost
all electronic equipment that
we see around. They are par
ticularly used in wireless com
munications and broadcasting.
Before the amplifiers were
introduced, mechanically cou
pled microphones were used
to serve the purpose in tele
phone repeaters.
In 1 906, the triode was
invented. It was the first elec A Triode
tronic device that could amplify
played a major role in the
development of the light bulb,
and its popularity. The story of
the light bulb begins long
before Edison patented the
first commercially successful
bulb in 1 879.
Alessandro Volta's invention
of the battery in 1 800, gave
inspiration to many scientists.
One among them was Hum
phrey Davy. He produced the
world's first electric lamp by
connecting voltaic piles to
charcoal electrodes. It cannot
be called an electric bulb as
such. It was an electric arc
lamp, and he introduced it in
Humphrey Davy
1 802. It was named so for the
bright arc of light emitted
Why is it said that Humphrey between its two carbon rods.
Davy's contributions are However, Davy's arc lamp
unique? wasn't a very practical source
T
of lighting. It was much too
he story of the invention of bright for use in a home, and it
the electric bulb was very inter burned quickly. But the princi
esting. Even though many ples behind this arc light were
believe that it is Thomas Alva used throughout the 1 800s,
Edison who discovered the and many took inspiration from
light bulb, it was not so. He this invention.
54 Tell Me Why
Why is it said that William
Staite and Warren de la Rue's
contributions are remarkable?
D ifferent kinds of electric

lamps were invented by mas
ters in the past. First in the World
The English inventor H u m
Joseph Swan's house has
phrey Davy's electric arc lamp
a historical importance. It was
was one such creation that
the first in the world to be lit
made great changes in the
by a light bulb, and also,
field of electricity and lighting.
by hydroelectric power.
However, the arc lamps were
not flawless. Their biggest dis
advantage was that they were
not fit for practical use. They also, burnt out quickly. Never
emitted too much of light and theless, the principle of arc
lamps was used till the 1 900s
by various inventors for devel
I have oping electric lights and bulbs.
an electrical
Among them were Warren de
lamp.
la Rue and William Staite.
In 1 840, the British scientist
Rue developed a light bulb
using coiled platinum filament
instead of copper. Staite, on
the other hand, had been
working on increasing the lon
gevity of conventional arc
lamps. I n 1 848, he developed
a clockwork mechanism.
Through this, he was able to
regulate the movement of the
carbon rods used in the lamps
that eroded very quickly.
55
were not good, so they couldn't
remove enough air from the
lamps. Besides, the lamp
deposited a dark layer of soot
in its inner surface. This
obscured the light.
In 1 878, Swan demonstrated
an improved working lamp. It
had a better vacuum, and car
bonised thread as a filament.
The method of processing was
such that the bulb avoided ear
ly blackening. Soon after the
demonstration, Swan was
granted a UK patent. After
that, light bulbs were installed
in homes in England. In 1 880,
Joseph Wilson Swan
he received a US patent too.
For his contributions, Swan
Why is it said that Joseph was knighted in 1 904. The
Swan, along with his contem same year he also received
poraries, made a significant the prestigious Hughes Medal,
change in electric bulb? instituted by the Royal Society
A
of London.
nother person who made
significant contributions to the Why is it said that Edison's
making of the electric bulb is contribution to the develop
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan. ment of the electric bulb is
Swan was an English chem unmatchable?
We
ist. During the 1 850s and
1 860s, he conducted many saw that during the
experiments on bulbs using 1 800s, many inventors have
carbon filaments. Most of them worked hard to develop an
failed, because the vacuum effective light bulb. But, the
pumps used in those times most successful among these
56 Tell Me Why
1 878. He wanted to invent a
safe, yet cheap electric light
that could replace the earlier
ones. Between 1 878 and
1 880, he conducted many
experiments, with carbon fila
ments, platinum, and other
metals. In 1 879, he success
fully tested a bulb with a car
bon filament that lasted 1 3.5
hours.
The following year, Edison
and his team discovered that a
carbonised bamboo filament
could last over 1 200 hours.
Thomas Alva Edison
This marked the beginning of
commercially made light bulbs
inventors was Thomas Alva in 1 880.
Edison. As we know, this is just one
Edison's serious research of the many inventions made
into making a practical incan by Edison.
descent lamp began around Thus, Edison's contributions
remain unparalleled and, for
Do not disturb. his tireless work, he was right
He's checking the fully described as one of the
life of his bulb. greatest inventors.
Who invented light bulbs with

tungsten filaments that are
widely used today?
Scientists and inventors

have used a number of fila
ments for incandescent bulbs
in the past. But today, the
57
most popular one is the tungsten fila
ment.
It was William David Coolidge,
who developed a method to manu
facture tungsten filaments in 1 91 0.
The biggest advantage of tungsten
was that it had a high melting point,
and was able to withstand heat and
corrosion. That is exactly what
attracted inventors to it. Besides,
using inert gases inside the bulb
increased its luminescence.
As years passed, the element was
used in other lamps too, including Edison's Bulb
halogen, fluorescent, mercury
vapour etc. Tungsten is perhaps the
most durable type of filament used in
bulbs even today.
It is said that Thomas Alva Edison
himself knew that tungsten would
prove to be the best choice for fila
ments. But in his day, the technolo
gy and machinery required to
produce the wire in fine form was
Enmity of equals
not available.
It is believed that there
was a rivalry between
How is a fluorescent lamp different
Joseph Swan and
from an incandescent lamp?
Thomas Alva Edison.
A s you may already know, incan The two great inventors

had not met or spoken
descent and fluorescent are two
types of light bulbs commonly used to each other before the
invention of the
for various lighting applications.
incandescent lamp.
Incandescent light bulbs are older,
but are still used in our houses. They
58 Tell Me Why
produce light. Unlike incandescent
lights, they come in different shapes
and sizes.
There are many other differences
between incandescent and fluores
cent lights other than these. The for
mer has a low efficiency, and short
life. Fluorescent lamps have very
high efficiency, longer life, and are
also energy saving. They are said to
last 1 0 to 20 times longer than an
incandescent bulb.
However,many experts say that
fluorescent lamps pose threat to
health and environment. This is
Incandescent light Bulbs
because of the mercury. content in
them. Also, fluorescent lamps are
come in the form of a more expensive than the other type.
glass sphere, with a very
thin filament inside. It is
the tungsten filament
that we mostly use now,
and it is surrounded by
an inert gas. In these
bulbs, light is produced
by heating the metallic
filament u ntil it starts to
emit light.
A fluorescent bulb is
totally different. It is a
glass tube coated with
p hosphorous, contain
ing mercury vapour.
When the gas inside is
excited, these lamps
What makes compact fluores
cent lamp an energy saving
option?
A compact fluorescent light

(CFL) bulb or lamp is a type of
fluorescent lamp that is
designed to replace incandes
cent lamps. They are known by Deep Inside
different names- as compact Huge electric currents are
fluorescent light, or energy generated from the Earth's
saving light, or as compact flu iron core that lies deep inside.
orescent tube. CFLs come in These currents cause a
different shapes and forms, magnetic field to be formed
and are primarily known for that extends to outer space, far
their effectiveness and long beyond the Earth's surface.
life.
The modern, spiral shaped
CFL bulb that we use today in
our houses was developed by
Edward Hammer in the late
1 970s.
Although there are different
reasons why people use CFLs,
the most important feature of
these lights is their ability to
save energy. It is said that they
consume 75 per cent less
energy compared to incandes
cent lamps.
Compared to ordinary lights,
CFLs are more expensive, but
they last longer. One can use
them for months together, but
not ordinary bulbs.
60
- .
.
M EASURE iT RIGHT -
_
- .
.
Why is an ammeter important?
An ammeter is an instru
ment used to measure the flow
of electric current in a circuit. It
measures current in terms of
amperes, which is the unit of
current. The speed and force
of a current can be measured
using this instrument.
In the past, the instrument Ammeter
relied on the Earth's magnetic
field to take the readings of were designed and developed.
current. But as technology Ammeters are mostly used in
improved, better ammeters science laboratories. Other
than scientists, electricians
This ammeter also use this instrument, to
shows you have check the electric circuit.
high current. There are smaller units of
reading to amperes, namely,
milliamperes and microam
peres. These are measured
using milliammeters and
microammeters respectively.
There are two types of
ammeters- analogue and digi
tal . In analogue ammeters,
there is a needle that points to
the reading. In digital amme
ters, they are displayed digi
tally.
61
also voltmeters that can be
mounted on a transformer,
and other huge devices.
Yet another variety is a volt
meter that use amplifiers in
them. Such meters can meas
u re very small, or tiny voltages
of microvolts, or even less.
What is a galvanometer?
Voltmeter
Why is the voltmeter an impor

A galvanometer is a tool that
measures the flow of electric
tant equipment? charges through a wire. This
A
basic device consists of a coil
voltmeter is an instrument placed in a magnetic field. It
that measures the voltage can be used for detecting and
between two points in an elec
tric circuit. It can be connected
to a circuit by joining its posi
tive and negative wires to
where the voltage is. With such
an arrangement, the instru
ment is said to be parallel to
the electrical circuit.
Etymology
A voltmeter can be used for The term galvanometer was
many purposes. For instance, derived from the name of the
to check whether there is any Italian electricity researcher
more electricity left in a bat Luigi Galvani, who discovered
tery. the principle of frog
In an analogue voltmeter, galvanoscope in 1791. He had
the pOinter indicates the num found out that the legs of a
ber of volts. In a digital voltme dead frog would move if it
ter, the reading will be received an electric current.
displayed digitally. There are
62 Tell Me Why
What is a multi meter?
A multi meter is an instru

ment that measures the volt
age, current, and resistance of
an electrical device. Also
known as a VOM (Volt-Ohm
Milliammeter), they are very
useful in providing field meas
urements or detecting faults
Digital Galvanometer
with accuracy.
The first multimeter was
comparing small electric cur invented by Donald Macadie, a
rents. British post office engineer
The idea of galvanometers who was u nhappy with the
are known to have developed need to carry separate instru
from an observation made by ments needed for the mainte
Hans Orsted in 1 820. He had nance of telecommunication
found out that the needle of a circuits. His invention was the
magnetic compass deflects instrument that could measure
near a wire that has electric
current passing through it. But
it was Johann Schweigger who
built the first sensitive galva
nometer in the same year. Gal
vanometers, since then, came
to commercial use.
A galvanometer can be used
as an ammeter, as well as a
voltmeter. By connecting a
shunt in parallel to the coil, it
acts an ammeter, and if the
shu nt is connected in series
with the galvanometer coil, it Digital Multimeter
becomes a voltmeter.
amperes, volts and ohms, and
was named the avometer. \I I I
, \ \\ \ a
The device is commonly " 0.5
1.D
used by electricians and other
experts to troubleshoot prob
lems on appliances, motors,
circuits, power supplies and
wiring systems. They could
use the device on batteries,
switches, power sources etc Ohmmeter
for measuring or diagnosing.
Multimeters can be analogue Why is the ohmmeter an
or digital. Analogue multi me important measuring equip
ters are cheaper, but their ment?
A n ohmmeter is an electrical
readings are not as accurate
as the digital meters. Recent
digital multi meters are instrument used to measure
advanced enough to measure resistance of a conductor.
extremely tiny differences or Resistance, as we have
fluctuations. already seen, is the opposition
offered by a substance to the
It's time for a current flow in the device. The
self evaluation. unit of measurement for resist
ance is in ohms, hence the tool
to measure it is called an ohm
meter.
One must know that every
device has a resistance, large
or small. Resistance in con
ductors increases with temper
ature, but decreases in the
case of semiconductors.
Depending on the applica
tion, there are micro ohmme
ters, milli ohmmeters, and
64 Tell Me Why
two dimensional graph show
ing time on the x-axis, and volt
age on the y-axis. The signals
produced are plotted on a
graph.
There are a number of appli
cations for which oscilloscopes
are used. Most of the general
purpose instruments are used
for maintenance of electronic
equipment and laboratory
mega ohmmeters used. A work. It is an important tool for
micro ohmmeter measures
extremely low resistances with
high accuracy whereas a milli
ohmmeter measures the same
and confirms the value of any
electrical circuit. A mega ohm
meter measures large resist
ance values.
There is a device called
Fluke micro ohmmeter. It is Oscilloscope
used to measure voltage, cur
rent, and test diodes. designing, or repairing elec
tronic equipment. Special pur
What is an oscilloscope? pose oscilloscopes are used
I
for analysing an automotive
n simple terms, an oscillo ignition system or to display
scope is a type of equipment the waveform of the heartbeat
that provides visual images of as an electrocardiogram.
varying electrical quantities. Oscilloscopes can be divid
That means that its main func ed into two- digital and ana
tion is to graph an electrical logue. Digital oscilloscopes
signal as it changes over time. are portable u nits that are
Most oscilloscopes produce a replacing the analogue ones.
Why is Coulomb's law one among
the basic laws of electricity?
M any scientists have, in the past,

tried to study the features of charged
particles, and the force they exert on
other charged particles. But the rea
son behind this remained a mystery
until the French physicist Charles
Augustin de Coulomb put forward his
theory on the same.
Coulomb's law, as it is known all
Charles Augustin de Coulomb
over the world describes the electro
static interaction between electrically
charged particles.This law was first
published by Coulomb in 1 783.
Fully Charged.
Let's see what it says. Suppose
there are two charged particles. With
these is created an electric force. If
the charges are stronger, the forces
they create will be stronger too. This
is the basic idea behind the law. Cou
lomb also found out that either attrac
tion or repulsion acts along the line
between the two charges.
A decade earlier, British scientist
Henry Cavendish also made similar
observations, but he did not publish
them. So, most of the credit went to
Coulomb alone.
Tell Me Why
cuit Investigated Mathemati
cally' in which the Ohm's Law
first appeared.
Although it was later treated
as an important work that influ
enced the theory and applica
tions of electricity, the book did
not receive enough accept
ance when it was published. It
is said that Ohm resigned his
post as a teacher from Jesuit
Gymnasium of Cologne due to
this.
A few years later, Ohm's Law
started getting noticed, and
Georg Simon Ohm Ohm was appreciated. In
1 841 , the Royal Society of
Why is Georg Simon Ohm London awarded him its pres
considered to be a great sci tigious the Copley Medal con
entist? sidering his contribution.
G eorg Simon Ohm was a

The physical unit measuring
electrical resistance 'ohm' was
German physicist who formu named after him.
lated the 'Ohm's Law'.
It states that current flow Why is Faraday's law impor
through a conductor is directly tant?
The
proportional to the potential
difference or voltage, and concept of electricity
inversely proportional to the cannot be complete without
resistance. The law was impor Faraday's Law of induction. It
tant, because it marked a suc describes how changing mag
cessful start to the analysis of netic fields can cause electric
electric circuits. current to flow in a conductor.
In 1 827, Ohm published his The working principle of
book titled 'The Galvanic Cir- electric motors, transformers,
generators, are all based on Faraday's Lecture
Faraday's Law of Induction.
Faraday discovered electro Then he experimented by
magnetic induction in 1 831 . changing magnetic fields, and
He had conducted many saw that they induced current
experiments before conclud and voltage.
ing his theory. He experiment
ed with magnetic fields that
stayed the same, and realised
that they do not induce current.
First of its Kind

France and the United Kingdom
were the first nations to
support the widespread
development of electric
vehicles. The first known
electric car was built in 1837
by chemist Robert Davidson of
Aberdeen. It was powered by
galvanic cells.
68 Tell Me Why
Faraday's discovery of is an electromagnetic phenomenon.
electromagnetic induc The equations formed from these
tion did not receive much laws could give an explanation to
acceptance from scien many phenomena around. For
tists when it was intro instance, how hair stands on end
duced. But Scottish when one removed a nylon sweater,
scientist James Clerk
Maxwell realised its Statue of Maxwell
importance, and used
the ideas as the basis of
his quantitative electro
magnetic theory.
Why is Maxwell's equa

tion known as the foun
dation of classical
electromagnetism?
M axwell'S equations
refer to a set of four
equations that describe
the creation and propa
gation of electric and how a compass needle points north
magnetic fields. They all the time, how a power station tur
are named after the bine generates electricity etc.
Scottish physicist James Together, they could also describe
Clerk Maxwell, who the transmission of radio waves, and
made significant contri the propagation of light.
butions to unify the theo Hence, Maxwell's equation, along
ries of electricity, with the Lorentz force law, is said to
magnetism, and light. form the foundation of classical elec
The early form of these tromagnetism. Lorentz force law
equations was published describes the force acting on a mov
between 1 861 and 1 862, ing point charge 'q' in the presence
and it proposed that light of electromagnetic fields.
What are power stations? A Nuclear Power Plant
A power station is a place

where electricity is produced This includes coal, oil, and nat
on a large scale for distribu ural gas. They are called ther
tion. It is also called a power mal power stations.
plant, or power house. There are also plants that
The electricity generated use nuclear power instead. It is
here, mostly in several thou said that over 1 1 per cent of
sand watts, is transmitted to the world's power is produced
power grids through power by nuclear power stations.
lines. It is from these grids that But these days, there is an
people get electricity for homes, increasing use of renewable
schools, businesses etc. resources like solar, wind,
A majority of the power sta wave and hydroelectric pow
tions in the world burn fossil ers for electricity generation.
fuels to generate electricity. At the centre of almost all
power plants there are AC
I want to build generators, or alternators. The
a power plant. machines convert mechanical
power to electrical power.
In 1 882, Edison established
the Pearl Street Station, a
power plant that provided elec
tric lighting in Manhattan. The
station ran until destroyed by
fire in 1 890.
Tell Me Why
Why is it said that the history of
hydroelectric power stations begins
in London?
H Ydroelectric power plants use the

force of falling water to generate
electricity. It's one of the safest
sources of energy that is also relia
ble and cheap.
Some of the earliest hydroelectric
power plants were set up in and
around London. In the 1 870s, Eng
lish industrialist William George Arm William George Armstrong
strong built one such plant at
Cragside, in England. This was per electric power. This time,
haps the world's first hydroelectric it was to provide street
power scheme. It used water from and household lighting
the lakes on his estate to power the to the public. But this
generator. project ended up as a
In 1 882, a central station was built failure.
in Godalming, England, using hydro- However, many hydro
electric projects were
conceived all over the
world by then. It is said
that in 201 5, hydro pow
er generated 1 6.6 per
cent of the world's total
electricity. Almost 1 50
countries have hydro
power plants today, with
China being the largest
producer of hydroelec
tricity.
Cragside
71
What is meant by the 'War of Cur
rents'?
T he 'War of Currents,' was the

term used to refer to the dispute
between two brilliant inventors
Energy Producers Thomas Alva Edison and Nikola
Together, fossil fuel
Tesla. It happened towards the end
power plants and
of the 1 9th century, when there arose
nuclear power plants
a question over which was better
provide approximately
direct, or alternating current.
80 per cent of the
Edison was the brains behind the
electricity needed for
development of DC, which ran con
the world.
tinually in a single direction. In the
Ryan Thomas
early years of electricity, DC was
regarded as the standard. But it had
a problem; it couldn 't be easily con
verted to higher or lower voltages.
Tesla strongly believed that alter
nating current was a solution to this.
AC, which he co-developed could
reverse its direction unlike DC, and
Nikola Tesla
72 Tell Me Why
could also be converted to different A Thermal Power Plant
voltages using an electrical trans
former. It made possible long dis tricity. It is the most con
tance electricity transmission too. ventional, and common
However, Edison saw Tesla's source of electric power.
argument as a threat to his work. He Let's see how it works.
thus started off a public campaign , A thermal power plant
trying to discredit AC. The main rea burns fossil fuels like
son for the campaign was that Edi
son did not want to lose the royalties
he had been earning from his DC
patents.
But in spite of all the efforts Edison
made, it was Tesla and his AC that
won in the end. Today, electricity is
mainly powered by alternating cur
rent. Obsessions
Serbian-American inven
Why is it said that thermal power sta
tor Nikola Tesla was
tions are common?
known to have an obses
A thermal P9wer station is where

sion for the number '3'.
heat energy is used to generate elec-

coal, oil, and natural gas to Chimneys of a Thermal Power Plant
produce steam. The steam
thus formed, creates a pres What makes hydroelectricity
sure that spins the turbine more acceptable than the elec
inside the plant. Electric power tricity produced by thermal
is generated by these spinning power stations?
A
turbines.
The advantages of a thermal s we saw earlier, hydroe
power plant is that it requires lectric power plants make use
less initial cost, and less land of the force of flowing water to
compared to other power sta generate electricity. There are
tions. The fuel used - fossil many reasons why experts
fuel- is also cheap. Many coun hold that hydroelectricity is
tries in the world depend main more acceptable than the oth
ly on thermal power for er. One of the most significant
electricity. It is said that around advantages is that hydroelec-
40 per cent of the world's pow
er is made out of fossil fuels.
However, thermal power
plants have been criticised for
the pollution they cause, due to
the large amount of smoke and
carbon dioxide emitted. This is
a cause of global warming.
Besides, the overall efficiency
of a thermal power station is
below 30 per cent.
74
tric power plants do not require thermal plants. Besides these,
any fuel for power production. hydroelectric plants are known
They only need water, a to facilitate irrigation of farms
renewable source of energy. and preventing floods.
Thermal power stations need Hence, around 1 50 countries
fossil fuels like coal, natural in the world use this technolo
gas, oil etc., to function. gy for power generation.
Since no fuel is required, the
cost of electricity produced by How is electricity produced in
hydroelectric plants is also hydroelectric power stations?
A
somewhat constant. In the
case of other kinds of plants, it s we know, it is flowing
depends on the cost of fuels in water that creates the energy
the international market. required to generate electrici
Another important factor is ty. Wonder how it works?
pollution. Hydroelectric power Well, there is a huge amount
plants do not burn fuel ; hence of energy created from the faIl
do not cause pollution either. ing of water. This energy is
The heated water that comes harnessed by forcing it through
out of them threatens aquatic a pipe, which is called a pen
lives too. stock. At the end of the pipe,
Hydroelectric plants also
have longer lives compared to A Hydroelectric Power Plant
flow of a river and stores the water in
a reservoir above it. When needed, a
portion of the water is released into
the river flowing below the dam. The
pressure thus created from the fall of
water, spins turbine generators lying
Solar Cells below. From this is created hydroe
lectricity.
Solar cells are used to
Yet, another is the run-of-the-river
power portable devices
system. Here, turbines are spun by
like calculators. They
the natural flow of the river.
are also called photo
The third type follows the pumped
voltaic cells.
storage system. This is similar to the
first type of storage system. But the
difference is that it uses pumps to
there is a turbine propel pump the used water back into the
ler. So, when water flows reservoir.
through the pipe, it
reaches the propeller, How do solar power plants work?
A
and turns the blades of
the turbine. This spins s the name suggests, solar pow
an electric generator. er plants use sunlight for power pro
Hence, as long as water duction. There are two different
is flowing, the generator technologies used for solar power
will be spun, and there production these days- using photo
will be electricity. voltaic plants and solar thermal sys
There are mainly three tems.
ways in which hydroe Photovoltaic cells, or PV cells, pro
lectric plants are duce electric current when exposed
designed. to light. They are also called solar
The most common cells. They contain silicon, a natural
type follows a storage ly occurring element found in sand.
system. To put it clearly, When sunlight hit silicon, there hap
there is a dam used in pens a chemical reaction. As a result,
this system. It slows the electrons move, and electric current
76 Tell Me Why
is produced. A group of PV, or A Solar Power Plant
solar cells create a solar pan
el. A number of solar panels generate electricity. All the
form a solar array, and they systems have solar energy
generate solar energy. collectors with two compo
In solar thermal systems, nents- a 'reflector' that cap
sunlight is collected and con tures and focus sunlight onto
centrated to produce high tem the 'receiver'. In the system
perature heat that is needed to here, a heat transfer liquid is
heated and circulated in the
It's receiver. It is used to produce
my own solar steam. The steam is then con
power plant...
, \ , verted to mechanical energy in
- O
, , ,
a turbine, which powers a gen
erator to produce electricity.
Why is it said that the wind

and tides are the best way to
produce electric power?
The wind is a major source of

renewable energy that is also
useful to generate power. You
must have seen windmills in
77
real life, or on television. They Yet another form of energy
are set up on farms for power comes from ocean tides, which
generation. again, can be used to produce
Although they look like fans, electricity. Just like wind tur
windmills work in just the oppo bines, there are tidal turbines
site way. In fans, electricity is too. They are turned by ocean
used to make wind, but in currents. The spinning tur
windmills, wind is used to bines are connected to devic
make electricity. es that generate electricity.
Let's see how they work. Here again, the process and
When the wind blows, it turns products are safe, as there are
the blades of the windmill. This no harmful emissions made.
in turn, spins a generator inside,
and produces electricity. Why is osmosis and biomass
A single windmill can gener much less used source of
ate only a small amount of electricity generation?
O
electricity. Hence, power com
panies build wind farms with a smotic power is the energy
large number of wind turbines. that comes out of the differ
In many countries including ence in salinity between sea
Denmark and Portugal, wind water and fresh water. This
power contributes largely to
power production. Wind Turbines
energy can be har
nessed to generate elec
tricity.
Sounds strange,
doesn't it? Let's see how
this happens. When we
separate fresh water
from sea water by a semi
permeable membrane,
we can see that the fresh
water moves through the
membrane into the sea An offshore wind farm of Statkraft
water. This happens by
a process called osmo others. However, the biggest chal
sis. It means the move lenge this technology faces is the
ment of something from cost. Osmotic power plants are just
a less concentrated too expensive to install.
solution into a concen Yet another renewable energy is
trated one. biomass, a fuel that is developed
There is a pressure from organic materials like certain
created by the process crops, manure, forest debris etc. In
of osmosis. This pres biomass power plants, waste is
sure combined with the burned to produce steam that runs a
permeating flow rate turbine, producing electricity.
together, turns a hydrau
lic turbine, and produces
electricity.
Statkraft, the Norwe
gian energy firm was the
world's first test plant
that harnessed osmotic
power. Experts note that
there are many advan
tages to this kind of pow
er production over
What is meant by the A Sub Station
term electric power
transmission? process is called power distribu
E
tio n . Normally, transmission takes
lectric power trans place at very high voltage , like 1 1 0
mission means the kV or above. This is because of the
transfer of electric pow large amount of power involved in
er from one place to this.
another in large quanti Over long distances, electricity is
ties. transmitted through overhead power
Typically, this hap transmission lines. But in places that
pens between a power are environmentally sensitive, or
plant and a substation where there is very high population,
situated near a popu lat transmission takes place under
ed area. A substation is ground. They have high installation
where voltage is trans cost and operational limitations, yet
formed from high to low their maintenance cost is lower.
or vice versa using trans The network of power stations,
formers. When power is transmission lines, and substations
transmitted from substa is together known as a transmission
tions to consumers, the grid.
80 Tell Me Why
How does electricity
come to our home?
F rom the moment

power is generated in a
plant, it goes through
various stages before
reaching our homes.
Let's see how power
travels. From the elec
tricity generating plants,
current is sent through
transformers to increase
the voltage, so that it can
be pushed longer dis From there, it travels through vari
tances. ous distribution lines, and reaches
Electric power then your neighbourhood where smaller
reaches a substation. transformers reduce the voltage, so
Here, the voltage gets that you can take safe power to your
lowered, so that it could homes.
be sent to smaller power From the transformer, power is
lines. carried through service drops, or
smaller overhead electrical lines to
your homes. It also passes through
the 'meter' installed in the house that
can measure how much power is
used by the family.
The current moves straight to the
service panel, where fuses protect
Resistors to Resist
the wires inside the house from over
Resistors in an electric
loading. Keep in mind that children
circuit are used to
should never touch this panel !
reduce current flow or
It is from here that power finally
to divide Voltages.
moves to the switches and outlets all
over the house.
What is meant by overhead pow Why is it said that trans
er lines? formers play a major role in
O
electric power distribution?
A
verhead power lines are
structures for electric power transformer is an electri
transmission and distribution cal device that transforms
across large distances. They electricity from high to low
also make the cheapest method voltage and vice versa. It is
for transmitting power. an important component for
In usual cases, overhead pow power transmission. Let's
er lines have one or more con get to know why.
ductors suspended by towers. We saw the process
One of the major duties of these through which electric power
power lines is to maintain enough reaches our homes. When
space or clearance between electricity travels from a
these energised conductors and power plant, it comes in a
the ground, in order to avoid dan
ger. A High Voltage Transmission Tower
These days, power lines can
be operated at voltages of
765,000 volts or even more,
between conductors. Depending
on their range of voltages, over
head power lines can be classi
fied as low voltage, medium
voltage, high voltage, extra high
voltage, and ultra high voltage.
However, these power lines
are extremely dangerous, and
one has to keep a safe distance
from them. Unlike household
power cords, overhead power
lines are not insulated. Even if it
looks like an insulation, it might
be a weatherproofing material.
82
A diode is an electric
component made of
semiconductor materi
als like silicon, germa
nium or selenium. It has
two electrodes in it- the
anode and the cathode. A Step Down Transformer
Sneha Rao
But do our homes need this kind of

voltage? Absolutely not! Before the
very high voltage. This power reaches houses, the voltage
is because the voltage has to be lowered, or stepped down.
from the plant is 'stepped This is where transformers again
up' by transformers become important. They step down
before they are transmit voltage from high to low.
ted.
The voltage has to be
increased because elec
tric power has to travel
very long distances, and
that too, with minimal
loss of energy. We
should know that energy
is lost in the process of
power transmission. But
f the voltage is high,
energy loss would be
low.
ELECTR ICITY I N HOMES
Why is the electric meter an impor
tant equipment in houses?
E lectric meters are devices that we

commonly see in houses and offices.
They are used to measure the total
electrical energy consumed by the
appliances in a house or office. The
devices are installed by the electric
power company that supplies elec
tricity.
If you take a close look at these
meters, you can see a few digits. An Electric Meter
They denote the number of units of
electricity that has been consumed meters, but they have an
so far. Our electricity bill depends added advantage.
totally on this reading. These smart meters are
There are different types of electric connected back to the
meters available in the market. One
is the electro-mechanical meter,
which is most commonly used in our
country. It has a magnetic metallic
disc attached, which rotates, depend
ing on the power passing through it.
The rate of this rotation decides the
reading on the meter.
Then there are electronic meters
that are popular in cities. In these,
readings appear digitally on the dis
play fixed on the meter.
The newest in this league is the
smart meter. They are electronic
84
utility (which provides us elec awatts. A megawatt is
tricity) through the internet. equivalent to one million watts!
Hence, no official will have to The term 'watt' was named
come in person and take the after James Watt who devel-
readings. The readings are
sent through the internet,
which makes the job easier.
What is the measuring unit of

electricity?
E lectric power is always rep

resented in terms of watts (W)
or kilowatts (kW). A thousand An LED Bulb
watts together make a kilowatt.
Watts describe the rate at oped the steam engine. Watt
which electricity is consumed hour is quite different from a
during a specific period. Take watt. It is a measure of electri
the case of a 1 5-watt LED bulb. cal energy equivalent to a
It draws 1 5 watts of power at power consumption of one
any moment when turned on. watt for one hour.
Let's look at other examples
to understand the concept bet
ter. The power rating of a typi
cal incandescent light bulb
used in houses is between 25
to 1 00 watts. To produce a
similar amount of light, fluores
cent lamps consume 5 to 30
watts, and LED lamps use 0.5
to 6 watts. The first electric light in India
Coming to power stations, a was lit in Kolkata, on July 24,
typical power station that uses 1 879. It was demonstrated by
coal to generate electricity pro P.w. Fleury & Co.
duces around 600 to 700 meg-
It is a problem that arises when two
or more wires in an electrical circuit,
that are not supposed to come in con
tact, touch each other. This action is
immediately followed by a very high
current flowing through the circuit.
This can result in a lot of dangers,
Demand Drivers like sudden fire, destruction of the
India is the world's third components in the circuit, or melting
largest producer and of insulation. Sometimes there can
fourth largest consumer also be an electrical explosion, or
of electricity. what is known as an 'arc flash'.
What is meant by a short

circuit?
S hort circuit is a term

we hear often, and it is
something that is dan
gerous, for sure. Let's
see what exactly a short
circuit is. Scary, isn't it? However, there are
fault protection devices like circuit
Nothing ... but breakers and fuses that can detect a
a short circuit.
short circuit.
Why is the fuse an important equip

ment?
A s we saw earlier, a fuse is a

device that is provided in an electrical
circuit to protect the appliances con
nected to it from damage. It is a safe
ty tool that limits current in a circuit.
Tell Me Why
Then there are blade type
fuses that come in a plastic
body with two metal caps, to
be fitted in a socket. These
fuses are mostly used in auto
mobiles for wiring and protec
tion from short circuit.
Another category is of reset
table fuses. They can be used
multiple times without being
Circuit-breakers
replaced. Such fuses are seen
in nuclear systems, or in aero
Structurally, a fuse is a short space systems.
piece of wire made up of ele
ments like zinc, copper, silver, Why is it said the introduction
aluminium, which have high of the telegraph, telephone,
resistance, and a low melting and loudspeaker are a culmi
point. In case of overheating nation of electricity?
T
due to excess current, the fuse
tends to melt and separate. It elegraPhY, a technology
thus prevents fire outbreaks developed in the early 1 8th
and also protects humans from century, revolutionised long
electric shock. distance communication. It was
Fuses, in general, are used a simple electrical circuit that
in all types of electrical and transmitted electric Signals
electronic applications. over a wire, between stations.
Depending on their uses,
there are different types of fus
es available. One is the car
tridge fuse, which is used to
protect electrical appliances
like motors, air-conditioners,
refrigerators, pumps etc.,
where high voltage rating and Telegraph Equipment
currents are required.
pose, the signals have to be
connected to an electronic
amplifier.
Generally, a loudspeaker is
built using a coil of thin copper
wire, a still paper cone and a
circular magnet. When electri
cal signals are passed through,
the coil of copper wire moves
back and forth. This, along
Old Telephone with the magnet, cause the
paper cone to vibrate and
Through the telegraph lines, reproduce sou nds.
messages could be sent back Taking into consideration the
and forth as bursts of electrici above mentioned devices, as
ty. It was the connection well as other equipment, one
between electricity and mag can say that no invention in
netism that led to this path recent times has been com
breaking invention. plete without electricity.
By the end of the 1 9th centu
ry, another invention surfaced )
the telephone. It was a different
and advanced device that lI'
, ' '9C
SJAR . F.ACI
improved communication
between long distances. In a
telephone, an electric current
carries the sound. Here again,
Gone with the Wind
the invention followed the prin India is credited with having the
ciple of electromagnetism. fifth largest wind power capaci
Another important device ty in the world. Wind power
that works on the same princi accounted for 9 per cent of the
ple is the loudspeaker. It con country's total power capacity
verts an electrical signal from in 2015-16.
devices like a radio, or televi e Oevnath
sion into sound. For this pur-
88 Tell Me Why
Why is it said that electricity some of them, generation,
distribution is different in eve transmission and distribution
ry country? of electricity is done by a gov
T
ernment controlled organisa
he electrical sector of any tion. But in some others,
country in the world depends privately owned companies
mainly on its economic sys will have shares too.
tem, and policies adopted by Just like the operation, the
its government. voltage and frequencies for
Hence, the whole process of providing electrical power to
power production and trans appliances too, differ from
mission in a country need not country to country.
be the same as others. In In India, 50 Hz and 230 volts
of power is distributed for
domestic and industrial pur
poses. Countries like Hungary,
Italy, Indonesia, Germany,
France, and Russia too, follow
the same pattern . But the USA
and Canada have a different
scheme- of 1 20 V and 60 Hz.
In Pakistan , Iran, and China
it is 220 V and 50 Hz, and in
Japan it is 50/60 Hz and 1 00V.
This means, every country has
differing rules regarding distri
bution of power.
89
Why is it said that India is a giant in
the production of electricity?
T he power sector of India is known

to be one of the most diversified and
powerful ones in the world. Sources
of electricity generation here include Gifted
conventional sources like coal, natu With the inauguration
ral gas, oil, lignite, hydro and nuclear of a dedicated solar
power, and also non-conventional plant, the Cochin
International Airport
limited (CIALI became
the world" s first fully
solar-powered airport,
on August 18th, 20 1 5.
.
.".. -
, _ I' -"" ....
F c,. ""F I : .
..
..,II' " "
... ;''', ' '

more than 42,848 MW
,01 ... '
, '
.. ....,....-..,.. ... .....
.
renewable energy sourc
....
,' -\oil... , , . ... :., 1...
_ _ _
es such as solar and
Thermal Power Plant at Kota, Rajasthan wind power plants. This
means, the country's
sources like solar, wind, agricultural renewable energy sec
and domestic waste. tor is considered very
The country has witnessed a very important.
fast growth in electricity generation About 65 per cent of
since 1 990. In the year 201 5, the the electricity produced
country became a power surplus in India is from thermal
nation that possessed huge electric power plants. More than
generation capacity. But many villag 20 per cent of the power
es in India do not have power con comes from hydroelec
nection even now. tric power plants and 3
By mid-201 6, I ndia's power gener per cent from nuclear
ation capacity crossed the 300,00 plants. The rest is from
MW (megawatt) mark, including alternate sources.
90 Tell Me Wh}
Why is it said that India's regional grids were interconnected.
grid management sys In October 1 99 1 , the first intercon
tem is unique? nection was made, between the
A power grid refers to

north eastern and the eastern grids.
A few years later, in 2003, the west
an interconnected net ern grid got connected with the
work for distributing above. This process followed in the
electricity to consumers.
It was in the 1 960s that
I ndia began utilizing the
grid management sys
tem on regional basis.
The power grid system
was then geographically
divided into five regions
for better management.
These regions are
northern, eastern, west
ern, north eastern and High Voltage Electric lines in the Himalayas
southern grids.
They were established later years as well. The northern grid
to enable the transmis was also interconnected in August
sion of surplus electricity 2006.
between states in each In December 201 3, the remaining
region. grid- southern- was connected to the
Towards the 1 990s, central grid in a synchronous mode.
the Indian government Thus, the aim to build 'One Nation
started planning for a One Grid- One Frequency- was
national grid. As a result, achieved.
the above mentioned
Why is the use of renewable Eco-friendly options for
energy important? Power Generation
There are many reasons why There are many countries

renewable energy is important that depend largely on renew
for the world and its future. able resources. For instance,
The main advantage of these Denmark, U K, Scotland and
energies is that they are free of Ireland make great use of wind
pollution. Renewable resourc energy.
es are way cleaner than fossil Denmark, which has been a
fuels because they don't pro pioneer in the field, gets around
duce toxic wastes. 42 per cent of its power from
Next, the reserves of these wind plants.
energies are never ending And there are countries like
unlike coal, gas, oil or nuclear China, and I ndia that use of
sources. Hence, they're hydro power for electricity,
named renewables! which is equally safe.
Power production from fuels
and other non-renewables How do we save electricity?
B
demand a large-scale import
of these resources at high pric y now, we should all know
es. Also, their cost depends on that electric power is very pre
the international market. In the cious and has to be saved.
case of renewable resources, There are of course many
it's not needed as most of the ways to do that. Let's look at a
energies depend on the Sun. few of them.
92 Tell Me Why
The first and foremost step is to
make sure that any appliance is
turned off when not in use. For light
ing, you could use LEOs or CFLs
instead of incandescent bulbs. And if
it's daytime, try to make use of the
day light instead of other lights. They
could very well serve the purpose!
The next thing to remember is that
electrical appliances should never
be left on standby. It's a major waste up. So, old appliances
of power. A TV consumes 1 0 watt should be replaced by
power in standby mode. energy-saving models
If you are using an air conditioner, on time, so as to save
make sure the doors and windows power.
are closed, so that the power is not These are some of the
wasted. But any day, ceiling fans are methods you can try to
recommended instead of coolers save power in homes.
and air conditioners.
The appliances that accou nt for a
big chunk of your electricity bill are
refrigerators, air conditioners, wash
ing machines etc. And as they get
older, power consumption too goes
First Electric
Train
The first electric train
in India ran on
February 3rd, 1 925 on the
Harbour Line between
Bombay's Victoria
Terminus and Kurla.

ne of our entries wins a n
i nternational prize.
T h e N a t i o n a l G e o rg ra p h i c K i d s
rec e n t ly h e ld a worl d - w i d e
p hotog ra p hy contest for c h i l d re n ,
Sanya Jain
T h e va r i o u s n a t i o n a l e d i t i o n s
C lass VI I E
Army Pub lic School,
c o n d u cted separate c o ntests, a n d t h e
Am bala C a n tt , i nt e r n a t i o n a l wi n n e rs were c h o se n
H a rya n a . fro m t h e fi rst - p rize w i n n e rs i n va rious
I nternational countries,
Wi n n e r i n t h e O n e of t h e I n d i a n w i n n ers,
' W i l d Vacat i o n '
category.
Sa nya J a i n [ 1 2) from H a rya n a , has
been c h osen a s a n i nt e r n a t i o n a l
w i n n e r, i n t h e 'Wild Va c a t i o n ' c a t e g o ry.
C O N G RATULAT I O N S , SANYA!
94 Tell Me Why
1. SANYA JAIN 1. NEERAJ NANDAKUMAR
27 Coy ASC Sup Ambala Cantt, 28/145, Shobhendu, Thondayad,
Geeta Gopal Chowk, Ambala Chevarambalam Post,
Cantt, Haryana 1 3300 1 . Kozhikode, Kerala 6730 1 7.
2 . BENJAMIN MATHEW 2. AARUSHI CHAKRABORTY

#3 1 3, 2EC, HRBR 3rd Block, Sovereign Park, FF-2 , No-38,
Old Ramaiah Layout, Kalyan 1st Main Rd, Chinnana Layout,
Nagar, Bengaluru 560084. KB Sandra, PO- R.T. Nagar,
Near Ambedkar Medical
3. SHAYAN S College, Shampura Rd,
House Number 1 7,
Bengaluru 32.
A Block, KMC Staff Quarters,
Light House Hill Road, 3. KEVIN GEORGE MATHEW
Mangalore 57500 1 . C/o Vipin Varkey, M6/29,
Mukkuzhickal, KSHB Housing
Colony, MaJaparamba PO,
I Kozhikode 673009.
WEIRD B U T TRUE
1. SHRIRAM SUYOG JOSHI AMAZ I N G ANI MALS

Gokul,5 1 -A, Vrindavan
Hsg. Soc., Panchavati, Pashan,
1. AlKA NIKHIL
Pune 4 1 1 008.
B-4, Uttarayan Apartment,
2. SREERAM CHENGALOOR Bachaspati Para, P.O. Talpukur,
Flat No. 1 1 , Green Court Barrackpore,
Apartment, 8th Main, Kolkata 700 1 23.
4th block, Srinidhi Layout,
Vidyaranyapura,
2. KETAN DAS
E- 1 80, Sector-2 1 , Noida,
Bengaluru- 560097.
Uttar Pradesh 20 1 30 l .
3. DHURAI A.NAVANEETHAM
3 . HRUDASREE R . KRISHNAN
1 24- S 1 , SRP Colony 2nd Street,
Flat 4C, Asset Lineage,
Periyar Nagar,
Pipinrnoodu, Sasthamangalam,
Chennai 60008 2.
Trivandrurn 6950 10.
STATEMENT ABOUT OWNERSHIP AND OTHER PARTICULARS ABOUT MANORAMA TELL ME WHY
FORM IV (See Rule 8)
1. Place of Publication Kottayam

2. Periodicity of its Publication Monthly
3. Printer'lI Name V. Sajeev George
(whether citizen of India?) V
Addresa M.M. Publication8 Ltd.,
P.B. No. 22S, Kottayam 686 001
4. Publisher's Name V. Sajeev George
(whether citizen of lDdia?) V..
Address M,M. Publications Ltd.,
P.B. No. 226, Kottayam - 686 001
6. Editor's Name Mrs. Ammu Mathew
(whether citizen onndia?) Ve.
Address Kandatbil, Old Seminary Road,
Chungam, Kottayam- 686 001.
6. Names and addresses ofindivi
duals who own the newspaper M.M. Publications Ltd.,
P.B. No. 226, Kottayarn - 686 001
Name and address of share
holders holding more than one
percent of the total capital all gIven below:-
L Mr. Mammen Mathew. Manorama Mandiram, Manganam, 19. Mrs. Sarah Kuriyan, Empire Infantry, 3rd Floor, No. 29,
Kottayam- 686 018. Infantry Road. Bangalore- 560 001.
2. Mr. KK. Mammen Mappillai, Indo Bloom Ltd., Empire lnfan- 20. Mr. Rohan Mathew Mammen, Block E-13, Willingdon
try, 3rd Floor, 29, Infantry Road, Bangalore- 560 001. Enclave, Pandit Karuppan Road, Thevera, Kochi-682 013.
3. Mrs. Soma Philips. 2211, Grant Road, BangaJore- 560 001. 21. Mrs. Ambika Mammen & Mr. KM. Mammen, 17,
Gilchrist. Avenue, Off Harington Road, Cbetpet,
. Mr. Roy Mammen, No. 29, Infantry Rood, BangaIon>- 660 001. Cbennai- 600 03l.
5. Mr. Arun Mammen. 28, G.N. Chetty Road, 1" Nagar. 22. Mrs. Reenu Zac:.bariah, Ashoka House, Mount. Wardha,
Chennai- 600017.
Kottayam. 686 004.
6. Mrs. Omana Mammen. 15, Wallace Garden, 1st Street. 23. Mrs. Ammu Mathew, Kandatbil, Old Seminary Road,
Chennai- 600 006. Cbungam, Kottayam- 686 001.
7. Dr. Mrs. Annamma Mammen, Mount Wardha, 24. Mr. K.M. Mammen, 17, Gilchrist Avenue,
Kottayam 686 004. OfT Harington Road, Chet.pet., Chennaj 600 031.
8. Dr. Mrs. Sarah Thomas, Mount. Wardha, Kottayam- 686 004. 25. Mrs. Meera Mammen, No.6, Riverllide Road,
Kotturpuram, Chennsi- 600 086.
9. Mrs. Annu Kurian, OoppoottiJ. Kawdiar P.O.,
Thiruvanant..hapuram- 695 003. 26. Mr. Mammen Espen, 15, Wallace Garden, 1st Street.
Cbennai- 600 006.
10. Mrs. Mary Kurian, C/o. Mr. T.K Kurian, 402,
Skyline Apartments, Langford Road, Bangalore- 560 025. 27. Mrs. Rebecca Jacob, Flat No. IB, 'AUM' Apartments,
1L Mrs. Shirin Mammen, No. 10, Wallace Garoen, 1st Street, 26, Kothari Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai-600 034.
Chennai- 600 006. 28. Mr. Anand Mammen Katakam, 413 Curley Street,
12. Ms. Shilpa Mammen, C-Il, IFS Apartments, Mayur Vihar, Richmond Town, Bangalore- 560 025.
Phase I, New Delhi 110091. 29. Ms. Anna Philip, 2A, Camhrae Hall, 172,
13. Mrs. Meers Philip & Mr. Rohit Philip, Lodha Bellissimo, Flat Dr. P.V. Cherian Crescent, Egmore, Chennai-600 008
No. A-3001. A wing, Appollo Mil1s Compound, N.M. Joshi 30. Mrs. Maya Katakam, 1&15, Binny Cresent, Benson Town,
Marg, MahaJaxmi, Mumbai-400 OIl.
Bangalore- 560 04S.
14. Mr. Kiran Kattukaran. Empire Infantry, rurd Floor. No. 29,
31. Mr. Adith Pouloae Mammen, Block E13, Willingdon
infantry Road, Bangalore- 560 001.
Enclave, Panmt Karuppan Road, Thevara, KochiS82 013.
15. Mrs. Prems Mammen Mathew, Manorama Mandiram,
Manganaro, Kottayam 686 018. 32. Mr. Varon Mammen Mappillai, No. 6, Riverside Road,
Kotturpuram, Chennai- 600 086
IS. Mrs. Meera Philip & Ma. Oivya Nanavaty, Lodha Bellissimo,
Flat No. A-300l , A wing, Appollo Mills Compound, 33. M.s. Aditi Mammen, No.6, Riverside Road, Kotturpuram,
N.M. Joehl Marg, Mahalumi, Mwnbai-400 011. Chennai 600 08S
17. Ms. Aswatby Vargbese, lst Floor, ViBwas, 8 (old No. 34), 34. Mr. Mammen Philip. 4A. Chandika, O.P.Towers, a,
Prithvi Avenue, Abbiramapuram, Chennai-600 018. College Lane, Chennai 600 006
18. Mrs. BiDa Mathew, 'MANORAMA', 5912002, 35. Mrs. Annamma Philip, 4A, Chandika, D.P.Towers. 8,
Panmt Karuppan Road, Tbevara, Kochi- 682 013. College Lane, Chennsi- 600 006
l, V. Sajeev George, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best. of my knowledge and belief.
SdI-
Dated: 01-02-2017 Publisher
96 Tell Me Why
It.s time to
use a memory
card ....
Question of the Month
Why do we forget things?

As we all know, our brain is a bril
Oh no!
I forgot its
liant magician. It allows us to do amaz
password. ing things like learn multiple
languages, and solve complex math
ematical problems. But the very same
wizard, at times, deceives us by for
getting things.
Why do we forget things? Scientists
suggest many theories behind this
strange behaviour by our brain. Most
prominent among them is decay theo
ry which states that our memory slow
ly disappears with the passage of
time.
Another theory is interference. This
means that when we get some infor
Question sent by: mation similar to information already
Aman Agarwal, Delhi. stored in our memory, it is likely that
Send us your questions we forget the new information. Strange
E mail: telimewhy@mmp.in but true!
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MANORAMA TELL ME WHY - STORY OF ELECTRICITY

r- Chief Editor: Ammu Mathew Editor-in-Charge: A_V_ Harisanker '
r--- -
Printed and Published by V. Sajeev George. on behalf of 14.14. Publications ltd. P.B. No. 226. Kottayam - 686 001
at 14.14. Publications ltd. P.B. No. 226. Kottayam - 686 001 and Malayala Manorama Press. Kottayam - 686 039
and published from 14.14. Publications ltd. P.B. No. 226. Kottayam - 6B6 001.
Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act -------1

Story of Electricity (Tell Me Why #126) (Gnv64)

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Story of Electricity (Tell Me Why #126) (Gnv64)

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What is electricity?

What is electricity?

How was electricity discovered and how has its use evolved over time?

How was electricity discovered and how has its use evolved over time?

WHY IS AN APPLE NOT LIKE THIS?

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The Master Servant

There have been an indef

E lectricity, in its simplest

Why is electric charge

E lectric charge is the

Units (SI), the unit of electric A proton is the positively

E lectrons, as we know, are nega

STORY OF ELECTRI CITY 9

S tatic means steady, or rubbed against a piece of silk

trons is something we already

Why is it said that the secret of static

T he Ancient G reeks tried to study it

Y ou may have heard about

CURIOUS tion systems etc. and also kitchen

What is meant by AC? Direct Current- Graphical Representation

E lectric current moves advantages over DC, AC power is

dynamos etc. It mainly

Why does voltage play a sig

A ll of us have heard of the

realised the merits of

L ightning could be attractive to a few

around 6000 cells called electro

J ust like the curious case of

ECG and EEG are

Why is Catatumbo lightning

L ightning is not always a

B all lightning is an unex

The first account of St. st. Elmo's Fire

Elmo's fire surfaced a

Why are sprites another

Sprites are a natural phe

An aurora is a display of coloured

Why is it said that there are two

B atteries can be broadly divided Iceland is the only coun

Why is it said that the history of the

B atteries are devices that have

Which is the first practi

The Daniell cell is per

can cause current to flow into a

Hans Christian Orsted Andre-Marie Ampere Michael Faraday

Orsted, a professor at the Uni study, he found out that wires

exception is gravity. Its

electric current is allowed to

T here are different waves of

as electromagnetic radiation. What is electromagnetic

I n its simplest terms, electro

Thales of Miletus Why is it said that the machine which

Why did the relay make histo

T he simplest definition for

Why is it said that Stephen

S tePhen Gray was an Eng

Why was the introduction of