Water flowing in pipes is a lot like electricity flowing in a circuit. A battery is like a pump. Electrons flowing through wires are like water flowing through pipes.
Click on image for full size
Electric Circuits: Like Water-in-Pipes
An electric current is a flow of electrons through a conductor (like a copper wire). Electrons are so tiny that we cannot possibly see them. How can we learn about electrical circuits if we can't see the electrons flowing? It turns out that water flowing in pipes is a lot like electrons flowing in wires!
This mechanical system consists of a pump pushing water through a closed pipe. Imagine that the electrical current is similar to the water flowing through the pipe. The following parts of the two systems are related:
| |
- The pipe is like the wire in the electric circuit
- The pump is like the battery.
- The pressure generated by the pump drives water through the pipe; that pressure is like the voltage generated by the battery which drives electrons through the circuit.
- The seashells plug up the pipe and slow the flow of water, creating a pressure difference from one end to the other. In a similar way the resistance in the electric circuit resists the flow of electricity and creates a voltage drop from one end to the other. Energy is lost across the resistor and shows up as heat.
|
The power in the circuit equals the voltage times the current. The same power can be carried by a high voltage and a low current as is carried by a low voltage and a high current. The higher the current flow, however, the more energy is lost as heating of the wires. That's why high voltage and low current is used when transporting electrical energy along power lines.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
books on science education,
classroom activities in The Earth Scientist,
mineral and
fossil specimens, and
educational games!
You might also be interested in:
There are two types of electrical currents that can flow through wires: direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC). Direct current (DC) electricity flows in the same direction all the time through
...more
Radiation can damage electronic circuits. Radiation can also cause electronics to malfunction. Radiation can damage the materials used in electronics over time. That can make the electronics wear out sooner.
...more
Sometimes a whole electric power system shuts down. This can happen after a strong space weather storm. It is hard to get the whole system running again after it has been shut down all the way. The main
...more
The force of magnetism causes material to point along the direction the magnetic force points. Here's another picture of how this works. This picture shows where the magnetic poles of the Earth are to
...more
The Earth has a dipole magnetic field. This is when magnetic field lines point in a direction out of the South Pole and into the North Pole. Planets can also have quadrupoles (4 poles) and octupoles (8-poles).
...more
Do you think Earth moves around the Sun in a circle? That is almost true, but not quite. The shape of Earth's orbit isn't quite a perfect circle. It is more like a "stretched out" circle or an
...more
Do you think Earth moves around the Sun in a circle? That is almost true, but not quite. The shape of Earth's orbit isn't quite a perfect circle. It is more like a "stretched out" circle or an
...more
