Carmella Van Vleet - Electricity: Circuits, Static, and Electromagnets with Hands-On Science Activities for Kids

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ISBN Softcover: 978-1-64741-006-3
ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-64741-003-2

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	600s BCE: Thales of Miletus recognizes that rubbing wool or fur on amber causes static electricity.
1600s: William Gilbert invents the versorium, an instrument that can detect electrical charges.
1745: German inventor Ewald von Kleist and Pieter van Musschenbroek of Holland separately discover a device that can store an electric charge. This becomes known as the Leyden jar.
1750: Benjamin Franklin begins experimenting with electricity. He later flies a kite in a storm to prove that lightning is an electric charge.
	1780: Luigi Galvani demonstrates that an animals nerves have an electric basis.
1800: Alessandro Volta invents the first chemical battery.
1830: Hans Christian Oersted and Michael Faraday discover the principles of electromagnetism. James Maxwell later combines these principles into a single theory.
1837: The first electric motors are built.
	1860: French investor Augustin Mouchot uses mirrors to invent the first solar energy system.
1879: Thomas Edison invents a filament that makes light bulbs an option for households.
	1880: Edison Electric Light Company is founded.
1883: James Wimshurst invents a machine that builds up an electric charge.
	1895: Nikola Tesla invents a system that alternates electric current.
1895: Niagara Falls in New York becomes the first large-scale hydropowered electric plant.
19001940: Electric motors are used in appliances such as vacuum cleaners, washing machines, televisions, electric freezers, and air conditioners.
1922: Edith Clarke becomes the first woman professionally employed as an electrical engineer in the United States.
	1927: A group of rural U.S. farmers purchases the first commercial wind turbines.
1940s: Electronic computers are invented and the first televisions go on sale.
1950s: Grace Murray Hopper is instrumental in the development of COBOL, one of the first computer languages. She had earlier coined the terms computer bug and debugging to describe fixing a computer problem.
1951: The first nuclear reactor is built and used to generate energy.
1960s: Transistors make portable radios possible.
1990s: Compact fluorescent bulbs grow in popularity, as do wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear power.
2000s: Laptop computers, cell phones, and tablets are all common household items. Smaller batteries that deliver more energy make this technology possible.
2020s: Researchers develop super tiny robots called nanobots that may be used in science and medicine.
2021: Electric car sales in the United States more than double to 6.6 million, which is almost 9 percent of the global car market.

What is the first thing you did when you woke up this morning? You probably turned on a light or went to the kitchen for breakfast. Maybe someone made you pancakes on the stove or toast in the toaster. Did you watch television or listen to music or use a computer? All of these things required electricity.

Electricity is a kind of natural energy. Some people think Benjamin Franklin (17061790) or Thomas Edison (18471931) invented it. But actually, nobody invented electricity. Its been around since long before humans came along.

Thousands of years ago, people knew about electricity because they could see it in action. Have you ever seen a lightning storm? How might people from the ancient past have explained lightning storms?

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What are some ways electricity is important to our daily lives?

WORDS TO KNOW

electricity: a form of energy caused by the movement of tiny particles. It provides power for lights, appliances, video games, and many other electric devices.

energy: the ability to do things, to work.

lightning: an electrical charge from a cloud.

generate: to create something.

technology: the tools, methods, and systems used to solve a problem or do work.

engineering: the use of science, math, and creativity in the design and construction of things.

static electricity: the buildup of an electric charge on the surface of an object.

BCE: put after a date, BCE stands for Before Common Era and counts down to zero. CE stands for Common Era and counts up from zero. This book was printed in 2022 CE.

amber: a piece of fossilized tree sap or resin.

battery: a device that stores and produces electricity using chemicals.

power: electricity made available to use.

Many of the jobs involved in generating, storing, and using electricity are STEM jobs. STEM is an abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. You might also hear it referred to as STEAM. The A in STEAM stands for Art and Design.

What about static electricity? The ancient Greek scientist Thales of Miletus lived from 625 to 547 BCE. He observed that if he rubbed a piece of amber with wool or fur, it attracted lightweight objects such as feathers and dust.