Glossary of Terms...Electrifying
Get "Current" with these Science Terms

Amp
Unit of electric current

Attract
pull

Chemical energy
Energy stored in the bonds of chemicals

Circuit breakers
Cut off the current if it reaches dangerous levels

Conduction
Pass on their energy…

Electromagnetic radiation
Wave energy…radio waves, microwaves, infrared rays, X-rays, gamma rays

Energy
The ability to do work; comes in different forms; can be transformed form one form into another

Energy conversions
One kind of energy can be changed into another kind of energy…electrical energy coming into a lightbulb is transformed into light and heat energy

Forms of energy
Light, sound, heat, electricity

Fossil fuels
Buried deposits of decayed plants that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth’s crust over millions of years

Heat energy
Passes from hot objects to cooler ones; travels by conduction through solids, and by convection through fluids only

Hydroelectric Power
the energy of flowing water spins a turbine to produce electricity

Insulators
Poor conductors of heat…plastic, wood, cork, fiberglass, air

Kinetic energy
Movement energy

Law of Conservation of energy
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can be converted from one form to another

Magnetism
An invisible force exerted by magnets and electric currents

Nuclear energy
energy released when an atom’s nucleus splits or fuses

Parallel circuit
Has two or more branches so that each branch gets full voltage from the source

Photosynthesis
A process in which green plants use solar energy to make chemical (food) energy

Potential energy
The energy stored until the object is released

Power stations
Send electricity to substations

Radiation
Heat energy traveling as infrared rays of electromagnetic radiation

Repel
push

Resistance
The degree to which materials resist the flow of current

Series circuit
All the components are connected on after another, so that they share the voltage of the source

Solar energy
the energy from the sun

Solar cell
Absorbs energy from the sun and converts it to electricity

Sound waves
Vibrations that occur in a material as sound passes through it

Static electricity
Based on the structure of an atom; electricity that does not flow

Wind Power
Capture wind energy and convert it to electrical energy