What is electricity? - Electricity Explained - (1)

What is electricity? How does electricity work? What do electrons do? What is short circuiting? These are all questions answered in this video: A fundamental explainer on what electricity is and how it works.

In following videos we'll look at voltage, ampere, ohm (resistance) and many more electricity related topics. All of this is to build a foundation of knowledge to serve all the future (and past) videos here on Into The Ordinary.

A couple of choices were made during the production of this video, that can be helpful to know:
- I chose to mention the Bohr-model in relation to the orbital model to bring the point across that there is more to atoms than just this. The What Are Atoms? video better explains orbitals than this video does, though.
- I intentionally used the word "shells" instead of orbits because it better catches what electrons are in real life, although still a simplification. This video is about electricity, not particle physics.
- Power generation, how batteries work, amps, volts, ohms, are all topics I want to address in separate videos.
- There will probably be a few more questions about this video, which I will try to address in the comments or in the description, here.

Never directly connect a wire to both holes of a wall socket, and never directly connect a wire to both ends of a battery! This can be dangerous and potentially life threatening!

🌏🌍🌎 Care to add your own language in subtitles?

Major thanks to Launchable Socks for doing the audio on this video! Check out his channel:

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[TieXiongJi]

As an Electrical Engineer, I certify the information is accurate and incredibly easy to understand. Well done, Creator!

[gieloc]

You just turned 4 weeks of learning and 12 hours of homework into a 10 minute video. Well done this is EXTREMELY helpful to me (and probably many others)

[cassiesimons]

I am a science teacher. I struggled teaching about electricity and magnetism because I couldn't find any material that truly explained how it works in simple terms. Everything I found seemed way too confusing and overcomplicated. This is brilliant! Thanks, I will be using these videos to educate my kids. Way to go

[alexcandale]

I’ve never commented on a YouTube video in my life. But I swear to god or whoever you believe in, I learned more about electricity in that 11 mins then I have my entire electrical apprenticeship. That was eye opening 😂😂😂😂

[bibhusanpradhan]

I am a Physics teacher and I always look for easier ways to teach my students and make things clear. Thank you for this video. It is very useful. And the way the animation and the narration goes its so perfect. Am looking forward to more videos from you.

[barryfoster]

As a heating engineer, I would like to thank my old tech college instructor for teaching me Ohms Law - as 'Virgins Are Rare' and 'Where Virgins Are'. As a 17 year-old, it was a brilliant way to remember how to work out wattage, voltage, amps, and resistance. It's never left me, and I'm 62, now. I use it almost weekly in my job.
I only came on here to refresh my memory on the name of the outermost electron cloud.

[obayrafi]

Lol i studied electricity in school for like 4 years
And watched like 20 videos

But i never understood it as clear as i did now

Keep up 💓💓

[josephstall]

It’s honestly sad that I just learned more in this 10 minute YouTube video than I did 12 years in school. I never understood anything about atoms, protons, electrons, etc, but now it makes more sense. Great video!

[IntoTheOrdinary]

Update June 2019: Wow! So many views! And so many people having added translations! I hadn't noticed - thanks to Dimitrios for bringing it to my attention. The community contributed captions will aide this video in helping more people. Thanks to everyone who contributed!



Original: This video will serve as a basis for other, electricity-related videos, such as one on VHS machines or curling irons. This one's very long compared to my other videos, for a good reason. I wanted to clearly lay down the fundamentals of electricity and its electrons before moving on to amperes, voltage, watts, ohms, et cetera. Thank you for watching :)

[zaheerkundgol]

I have never appreciated anyone that this deserve. And I also don't comment like 99 percent of the time and this video is just mind boggling. This guy gets a subscribe. The way he keeps it for beginners to grasp is just outstanding! I don't think I have seen a youtuber this much committed to explain physics. Keep posting you will be the best!

[spaceadventure]

Actually im just 13 years old and i like to study about atoms. But no such videos were there! In your video, you explained slowly and gently, thats what makes people understand in better way! Thank you soo much whoever you are!

[addieseidel]

I’m in esthetician school and we’re starting our electricity chapter to be able to use certain machines (high frequency, galvanic current, microcurrent, etc) and this video REALLY helps me visualize the basic concepts. Thank you!!

[jimivey]

I wish the teacher had explained it this clearly back when I was in school! Thank you for this great video.

[Freezyfied]

Been an electrician for a couple years now and even back in trade school I didn't quite grasp the whole picture. This video really filled in the gaps and questions I had, thank you!

[MS-itvv]

I don’t consider myself stupid, but I never really understood some of these high-level concepts until now. Thank you for sharing this.

[fernandoteruo]

This is exactly what education is missing these days. Get something complex and turn it into ordinary. So everyone can learn.

[lavaniadelrey]

Im taking the asvab and electricity is a subtest on there. I was so hopeless because id study for hours to no avail, Never did I think an electrical video could be explained to me where I understood. THANK YOU times a million this video was genius !

[RandomerFellow]

As a Swedish educator, I give you full marks.
'Through your animations, explanations and a precise pace

[movoyemickele]

OMG, this is what I need, the explanation is so clear. I need more of this, could you make more videos about electricity, also an explanation about resistor, capacitor, fuse, diode, inductor, different between AC and DC, and how can a power supply convert AC to DC, also how electrical travel on the mainboard. Because I guess no one can explain something too technical except you. Please please :)

[saberzain]

Excellent during my college days I tried hard to understand electricity but never found good tutors. But this 10 minutes video gave complete details about electricity.