What I"m going to tell you may shock and amaze you! You may take it for granted because you use to so often. You may use it for cooking, laundry, vacuuming, ironing, and so much more. It's Electricity!.
The first thing I asked myself was, "How many kinds of electricity are there?" I found out that there were three different kinds of basic electricity. They are static electricity, alternating current, and direct current. Static electricity is electricity at rest. It's made by friction. Friction can break electrons apart from certain atoms. Some things, because of their atoms, tend to lose atoms and are positively charged. Some tend to gain atoms and are negatively charged. Direct current is an electrical current and goes in one way. It is used in batteries and cars.
Alternating current is another electrical current that alternates its direction. If there wasn't alternating current there wouldn't be light, computers, and most electrical appliances.
Another category in electricity is magnetism. Magnetism is the attraction of objects to a magnet. Magnets work like this. The magnet is attracted to an object if the poles, or ends, of the magnet are opposite. For example the north pole of a magnet is pulled towards the south pole of a different magnet. Likewise, the magnet repels things if the poles are the same. So, the north pole of the magnet is pushed away from the north pole of a different magnet.
Most metals are attracted to magnets, like iron and steel. Aluminum, brass, and copper are not attracted to magnets. Non-metals, like plastic, wood, and clothes, aren't attracted to magnets either. Magnets are helpful to us in moving metals in a junkyard and in operating a car.
One very important person in electricity is Thomas Edison, but I don't think you've actually learned a lot about him. Thomas was born in Ohio in 1847. He loved to work in the basement of his house with - not what the average ten-year-old should be playing with - chemicals! He also had no formal schooling.
