Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Electricity

• Static and current electricity
• Electric charge
• Electric fields
• Coulomb's law
• Electrical properties
• Electric power

Electricity is a form of energy caused by the presence of electrical charges in matter. All matter consists of atoms, and atoms themselves contain charged particles. Each proton in an atomic nucleus carries one unit of positive electric charge, and each electron circling a nucleus carries one unit of negative electric charge. Electrical phenomena occur when electrons escape from atoms. The loss of one or more electrons (negative charges) from an atom leaves behind a positively charged fragment known as a positive ion. An electric current is produced when a mass of electrons...