Electricity is both a basic part of nature and one of our most widely used global forms of energy
Electricity is actually a secondary energy source known as an energy carrier. This means we get electricity from the conversion of other sources of energy; such as, coal, nuclear, wind, water power, solar energy, etc.
These sources of energy for electricity are called primary sources and the energy sources used to make electricity can be renewable or non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable nor nonrenewable.
Electricity use has resulted in dramatic changes in the way our world exists because before electricity became available over 100 years ago, houses had no light at night or people used candles, then kerosene lamps. Food was cooled in iceboxes (or not at all), and rooms were warmed by wood-burning or coal-burning stoves.
Many scientists and inventors have worked to decipher the principles of electricity since the 1600s and notable accomplishments were made by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Nikola Tesla.
Today, scientists are still studying electricity and learning more about it. They've learned that all citizens need to practice good safety habits, since electricity can be very dangerous.
Benjamin Franklin demonstrated that lightning is electricity, Thomas Edison invented the first long-lasting incandescent light bulb and Nikola Tesla discovered the principles of alternating electricity currents.
Before 1879, direct current (DC) electricity was used in arc lights for outdoor lighting. In the late 1800's, Nikola Tesla pioneered the generation, transmission, and use of alternating current (AC) electricity, which reduced the cost of transmitting electricity over long distances.
Tesla's inventions used electricity to bring indoor lighting to our homes and to power industrial machines.
In spite of the fact that electricity is important in the daily lives of people in industrialized nations, few probably stop to think what life would be like without electricity.
Regrettably, too many people in the world are still deprived of the pleasures and advantages of having access to electricity.
Like air and water, people who have normal use of electricity tend to take it for granted; even though they use electricity to do so many tasks every day; from lighting, heating, and cooling their homes to powering their televisions, kitchen equipment, computers, and other appliances run by electricity.
About the only time users of electricity really appreciate their electrical power and what it does is when it is cut off by storms or by some other abnormal situation.