Electricity

Have you ever shuffled your feet on the carpet and then touched a doorknob? ZAP. That little tingle you feel is me. Have you ever rubbed a balloon on your head and watched your hair stand straight up, or seen that same balloon magically stick to a wall? That’s me, too, playing a little game. I am a secret, super-fast energy that is all around you, hiding in plain sight. Sometimes I am small and playful, like a tiny spark you can barely see. But sometimes, during a big thundering storm, I put on a spectacular show. I flash across the dark sky in a brilliant, jagged line, lighting up the whole world for a second. I am a mysterious power, a zippy and crackling force that people wondered about for a very, very long time.

For thousands of years, people saw me but didn't know what I was. Long ago, people in a place called Greece noticed that when they rubbed a special stone called amber, it could pick up tiny feathers. They were seeing my magic. Much later, a clever and curious man named Benjamin Franklin thought the big flashes in the sky during a storm were the same as the little zaps he felt on the ground. To find out, he did something very brave and a little bit dangerous. On a stormy day in 1752, he flew a kite high into the thunderclouds. He tied a metal key to the string, and when a spark jumped from the key to his hand, he shouted with excitement. He had proven that lightning was me. After that, other smart people learned more about me. A scientist named Michael Faraday discovered how to make me flow in a steady stream, like a river of power. Then, an inventor named Thomas Edison gave me a wonderful job. In 1879, he built a little glass bulb with a tiny wire inside and sent me flowing through it. Suddenly, the bulb glowed with a warm, steady light, and the world was never dark in the same way again.

So, after all these years of zaps and flashes, what is my name? I am Electricity. The same power that Benjamin Franklin saw in a lightning bolt is the power that helps you every single day. When you flip a switch to turn on your bedroom light, that’s me, rushing through wires to brighten your room. When you turn on a tablet to play a game or watch a video, I am the energy that makes the screen light up with amazing colors. I am the power that keeps your milk cold in the refrigerator and toasts your bread in the morning. From the tiniest tingle to the brightest city lights, I am always working. Scientists and inventors figured out how to use my power to help people learn, create, and explore, and I am here to help you build an even brighter and more wonderful future.