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Meet Julie

My girlfriend Julie is a student, she’s dead clever. She’s got a part time job at the swimming pool, you might have seen her, she works on the changing room doors. They use lots of electricity there too. Apart from the lights, which are obvious, there are electric hand dryers, hair dryers, vending machines, tills, pumps, computers oh and the system that heats the water. That could be electric too.

They have to be careful at the swimming pool. Water conducts electricity which means that you should keep water and electricity well away from each other. They have special systems for doing that at swimming pools but at home you have to be careful to keep electric appliances away from water and make sure you have dry hands when you touch switches, plugs and electric appliances.

How good are you at spotting electrical dangers? Have a look at the room below and see how many you can find.

Go to the next page to see how well you did.

Ask Julie

What is energy?

Energy is a force that makes things happen. Electricity is just one form of energy that we use to provide heat, light and mechanical movement. The sun is another source of energy as are the wind and waves.

What are conductors?

Conductors are substances that allow electricity to pass through them. Metals such as copper are very good conductors. They allow electricity to pass through them easily. Plastic is not a good conductor of electricity. That is why copper wire is used to carry a current of electricity from one place to another. It is covered in plastic to prevent the electricity flowing where it is not wanted.

What is the difference between mains electricity and the electricity from batteries?

In the United Kingdom mains electricity is supplied to houses at 230 volts. If you receive an electric shock from mains electricity you will be severely hurt or killed. The electric current supplied by cells (the proper name for batteries), is usually 1.5 volts. 1.5 volts will not cause you any harm, so it is safe to use 1.5 volt single cells when you are learning about electricity.

Next page: Using electricity

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