Chapter 2
Understanding Electricity
In This Chapter
Unravelling the mystery of matter
Discovering current, voltage and power
Before you can do anything interesting with electronics, you need to have a basic understanding of what electricity is and how it works. Unfortunately, understanding electricity is a tall order, and so frankly the title of this chapter is a bit ambitious. Don’t let this discourage or dissuade you, though: the smartest physicists in the world are still making discoveries about electricity.
In this chapter, you take a look at the very nature of electricity: what it is and what causes it. This section may remind you of a school science lesson, as you delve into atoms, protons, neutrons and electrons.
We also introduce you to three things you have to know about electricity if you want to design and build your own circuits: current, voltage and power – the Huey, Dewey and Louie of electricity, or the Groucho, Harpo and Chico, or the – well, you get the idea.
Wondering about the Nature of Electricity
The exact nature of electricity is one of the mysteries of the universe. Although even experts don’t know everything about electricity, they do know a lot about what it does and how it behaves.
