Electricity and Magnetism

When a battery is connected to a bulb to make a complete circuit, the bulb lights up. If you are interested in understanding...

Physics Narrative 11-14

When the battery is connected up to the bulb to make a complete circuit, there is an electric current everywhere in the...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

The moving charged particles are simply part of the atoms that make up the battery, wires and bulb. When metal atoms combine...

Physics Narrative 11-14

The battery provides a push that keeps the charged particles in motion:

Physics Narrative 11-14

Electric current consists of moving charged particles. So the charged particles are moving around a circuit.

Physics Narrative 11-14

Electric currents do not get used up. In a simple circuit with one battery and one bulb, the size of the electric current is...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

Scientists agree to use a convention which shows the direction of the electric charge flow (the current) in a circuit as being...

Physics Narrative 5-11 11-14

Read more about which way the charged particles actually move–and find out whether it is important at this level.

Physics Narrative 11-14

In 1791, Luigi Galvani, an Italian physiologist, laid out a frog on a metal table prior to dissecting it. As he sliced through...

Physics Narrative 11-14

Once the circuit is up and running then there is a steady flow of charge, but the battery is needed to maintain that flow. As...

Physics Narrative 11-14

Read more about the mechanisms by which energy is shifted in a circuit.

Physics Narrative 11-14

When a battery is first connected to a bulb, the bulb warms up and lights up the surroundings. It is clear that something must...

Physics Narrative 11-14