Electricity is a type of energy. Electricity occurs naturally. That means it happens in nature. No one invented electricity. It’s always been around!
It can build in one place and then flow to another place. Electrons are small particles that have a negative charge. They are the smallest pieces of electricity. Electricity is the flow of electrons.
You probably have felt static electricity. Electricity built inside of you. Then, it flows to a doorknob or desktop. It’s a good example of electricity. Static electricity forms when electricity gathers in one place. Static electricity builds when two objects are rubbed together. When you rub a balloon on your hair, you create static electricity. Sometimes, when you run across the carpet in your fancy socks, you create static electricity. Your body received additional electrons. Then, if you touch metal (like a door knob), your hand is shocked by electricity. This happens because the additional electrons leave you and jump into door knob.
An electrical current forms when electricity moves. Electricity moves along a line. It can move in the air (lightning!). It can move along a wire (power line!). It can move along a lot of pieces. We call this current is this flow of electricity.
A conductor allows electrons to move easily. Your phone charger is a good conductor. The metal wires in your tablet also move electricity well. In fact, metal is a good conductor of electricity. That is why your metal doorknob causes shocks from static electricity. The door knob is a conductor, so if you touch it with your negatively charged hand, there is a shock! Now, if the doorknob was made out of wood, you would not receive a shock. Why? Because wood is an insulator. Insulators do NOT allow electrons to move freely. So, the wood does not allow the electrons leave your negatively charged hand.
How do we know?
People like you studied electricity. They studied things they saw for a long time. They wrote down what they saw, which is called observations. These observations are data scientists used to study electricity. Some of these scientists studied electricity over 2,500 years ago. You could be the person that makes the next event on our timeline!
Want to learn more? We like this list of electricity events!
https://www.salemelectric.com/sites/default/files/downloads/Kids_History_of_Electricity.pdf