TOM THE ATOM, BOOK 10

A day at the museum: Henry and his school friends discover electricity! 

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GOAL: Henry and his classmates visit an exhibit at the Lawrence Hall of Science –in Berkeley, California– on electricity. Children learn the concept of electricity or charge flow that we call a current of “free” electrons. 

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Electricity is a property of the atoms classified as Metals [do you remember the three groups: Metals, Semi-Metals (or Metalloid), and Non-Metals introduced in Book 6?].  In the Metals group, when many atoms are together, their valence electrons are so loose that they can move to an outer “band” called the Conduction Band.  Valence electrons in that band just move from Atom to Atom, generating a current of electrons. Like water running in a hose!

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Electricity is the flux of electrons (like heat from the sun) that we call a “current.”  Electrons freely flow through the metal under the influence of a force that we to call a Voltage difference (like the water pressure in a hose). The Metals are “Electrical Conductors.”