What (who) is electric - definition
![[[Surface-mount]] electronic components](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Arduino ftdi chip-1.jpg?width=200 "[[Surface-mount]] electronic components")
![The [[electric eel]], ''Electrophorus electricus''](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Electric-eel2.jpg?width=200 "The [[electric eel]], ''Electrophorus electricus''")
![Charge on a [[gold-leaf electroscope]] causes the leaves to visibly repel each other](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Electroscope.svg?width=200 "Charge on a [[gold-leaf electroscope]] causes the leaves to visibly repel each other")
![[[Benjamin Franklin]] conducted extensive research on electricity in the 18th century, as documented by [[Joseph Priestley]] (1767) ''History and Present Status of Electricity'', with whom Franklin carried on extended correspondence.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Franklin-Benjamin-LOC.jpg?width=200 "[[Benjamin Franklin]] conducted extensive research on electricity in the 18th century, as documented by [[Joseph Priestley]] (1767) ''History and Present Status of Electricity'', with whom Franklin carried on extended correspondence.")
![Early 20th-century [[alternator]] made in [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]], in the power generating hall of a [[hydroelectric]] station (photograph by [[Prokudin-Gorsky]], 1905–1915).](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Gorskii 04414u.jpg?width=200 "Early 20th-century [[alternator]] made in [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]], in the power generating hall of a [[hydroelectric]] station (photograph by [[Prokudin-Gorsky]], 1905–1915).")
![An [[electric arc]] provides an energetic demonstration of electric current.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Lichtbogen 3000 Volt.jpg?width=200 "An [[electric arc]] provides an energetic demonstration of electric current.")
![[[Michael Faraday]]'s discoveries formed the foundation of electric motor technology.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/M Faraday Th Phillips oil 1842.jpg?width=200 "[[Michael Faraday]]'s discoveries formed the foundation of electric motor technology.")
![A pair of [[AA cell]]s. The + sign indicates the polarity of the potential difference between the battery terminals.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Panasonic-oxyride.jpg?width=200 "A pair of [[AA cell]]s. The + sign indicates the polarity of the potential difference between the battery terminals.")
![[[Wind power]] is of increasing importance in many countries.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Parque eólico La Muela.jpg?width=200 "[[Wind power]] is of increasing importance in many countries.")
![[[Thales]], the earliest known researcher into electricity](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Thales.jpg?width=200 "[[Thales]], the earliest known researcher into electricity")
Wikipedia
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwell's equations. Various common phenomena are related to electricity, including lightning, static electricity, electric heating, electric discharges and many others.
The presence of either a positive or negative electric charge produces an electric field. The movement of electric charges is an electric current and produces a magnetic field. In most applications, a force acts on a charge with a magnitude given by Coulomb's law. Electric potential is typically measured in volts.
Electricity is at the heart of many modern technologies, being used for:
- Electric power where electric current is used to energise equipment;
- Electronics which deals with electrical circuits that involve active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies.
Electrical phenomena have been studied since antiquity, though progress in theoretical understanding remained slow until the 17th and 18th centuries. The theory of electromagnetism was developed in the 19th century, and by the end of that century electricity was being put to industrial and residential use by electrical engineers. The rapid expansion in electrical technology at this time transformed industry and society, becoming a driving force for the Second Industrial Revolution. Electricity's extraordinary versatility means it can be put to an almost limitless set of applications which include transport, heating, lighting, communications, and computation. Electrical power is now the backbone of modern industrial society.
