Prepare to Get Shocked: Interesting Facts About Electricity

Today, none of us can imagine our days without electricity. Our lives wouldn’t be the same without this form of energy because preparing our favorite meals and drinks, staying warm, and communicating would be practically impossible without all the electric devices we use on a daily basis. Yes, the fact that human civilization depends on electricity is a well known one, but the following 8 interesting tidbits about this staple of modern life – not so much. Read on to find out how many of them you already know.

1. Aside from wind, light, and water, electricity can also be made from animal manure.

2. Electricity travels at the speed of light – more than 299,000 km per second!

3. Benjamin Franklin discovered that lightning is a form of electrical energy, i.e. a discharge of electricity in the atmosphere. Lightning bolts can travel at around 209,215 km per hour. One bolt of lightning is powerful enough to supply 200,000 average size homes with electricity.

4. The very first power plant was built in New York City in 1882 and it was owned by Thomas Edison. During the first year, this plant supplied 85 buildings with electricity. Since the year of 1882, the electricity industry has grown immensely and now generates over two and a half million watts-hours on a yearly basis.

5. We have Thomas Edison to thank for the invention of more than 2000 products, including fuses, meters, sockets, and switches – items we need to use electricity in our homes. Today, a large number of electrical retailers and wholesalers offer their customers the possibility to buy electrical switches online and thus save both time and money.

6. Nikola Tesla’s brilliant mind is behind the first alternating current (AC) motor. The Serbian-American engineer and physicist also developed AC generation and transmission technology. Tesla’s AC system remains the global standard for power transmission. Moreover, Tesla invented electric oscillators, meters, improved lights, and the high-voltage transformer known as the Tesla coil.

7. Electricity plays a role in the way our hearts beat. This form of energy causes muscle cells in the heart to contract. This means that electrocardiogram machines measure the electricity that goes through the patient’s heart.

8. Almost all the electricity consumed in the world is generated from fossil, hydro, and nuclear power plants. However, climate change has made the implementation of sustainable energy solutions necessary, which is why renewables generate an increasing share of the world’s electricity. Iceland is the only country in the world that produces (almost) 100% of its electricity from renewables.

I bet some of these facts will pop up in your mind next time you search for and buy electrical switches online.