What is electricity?

Flick a switch and the light comes on. Plug in a toy and it whirrs to life. What is the invisible something racing through the wires? It is electricity.

Tiny movers in the wires

Everything is made of bits far too small to see. Some of those bits can hop from one place to the next. When billions of them all flow along a wire together, we call that flow electricity. It is a little like water rushing through a hose — except you can’t see it.

Electricity needs a loop

Electricity can only flow around a complete loop, called a circuit. A wire leads from the power, through your lamp or toy, and back again. A switch is just a tiny gap in the loop: switch it on and the loop joins up so electricity can flow; switch it off and the gap breaks the loop, so everything stops.

Where it comes from

The electricity in your home travels through wires from far away, made in big power stations — some of them using wind, water or sunshine. The electricity in a torch or a toy comes from a battery, which stores it up so you can carry it around with you.

Wonder fact: The lightning in a storm is electricity too — a giant spark leaping from a cloud, millions of times bigger than the little spark that lights your lamp!