Ontario Power Generation

Electrons on the loose!
Electricity is the flow of electrical power. We all use electricity in our daily lives, from the moment the clock radio wakes us up to the moment we turn off the light and go to sleep.

Small, but strong
To understand electricity, you have to know about electrons. Electrons are part of atoms, which are the building blocks of the universe - each of us and everything around us is made up of atoms. At the centre of every atom is a nucleus, where even smaller bits called protons and neutrons cling together. Further out, the tiny bits that are electrons constantly fly around the nucleus.

The electrons can be forced to move from one atom to another. That movement or flow is electricity. In your house, the electricity is delivered through a system known as alternating current, or AC, where the flow of electricity is reversed 60 times a second. The electrons jiggle back and forth in the circuit, but they don't travel very far. Power supplied by batteries, like in a flashlight or portable MP3 player, is direct current, or DC, and in these circuits the electrons only flow in one direction.

Zapping yourself
Have you ever felt a shock when you touched something after walking across a thick carpet? That's electricity! You picked up some extra electrons from the carpet, so you needed to get rid of some to even things out. So some electrons jumped off of you when you touched something metal. This is known as static electricity. Do it in the dark and you can sometimes see a tiny flash as the electrons jump from your fingertips.