Experiment with conductivity in metals, plastics and photoconductors. See why metals conduct and plastics don't, and why some materials conduct only when you shine a flashlight on them.

Students make a simple conductivity tester using a battery and light bulb. They learn the difference between conductors and insulators of electrical energy as they test a variety of materials for their ability to conduct electricity.

Experiment with conductivity in metals, plastics and photoconductors. See why metals conduct and plastics don't, and why some materials conduct only when you shine a flashlight on them.

It this exercise the students will discover that pure water does not conduct electricity and that dissolving different substances in water may or may not cause it to conduct electricity.

By convention, we define positive direction of current to be in the direction a positive charge would move. Electrons (with their negative charge) move in the opposite direction of the positive current arrow. Created by Willy McAllister.

Students’ background understanding of electricity and circuit-building is reinforced as they create wearable, light-up e-textile pins. They also tap their creative and artistic abilities as they plan and produce attractive end product “wearables.” Using fabric, LED lights, conductive thread (made of stainless steel) and small battery packs, students design and fabricate their own unique light-up pins. This involves putting together the circuitry so the sewn-in LEDs light up. Connecting electronics with stitching instead of soldering gives students a unique and tangible understanding of how electrical circuits operate.

Student teams investigate the properties of electromagnets. They create their own small electromagnet and experiment with ways to change its strength to pick up more paper clips. Students learn about ways that engineers use electromagnets in everyday applications.

The positive sign for current corresponds to the direction a positive charge would move. In metal wires, current is carried by negatively charged electrons, so the positive current arrow points in the opposite direction the electrons move. This has been the sign convention for 270 years, ever since Ben Franklin named electric charges with + and - signs. This convention came about 150 years before the discovery of the electron. Created by Willy McAllister.

Welcome to DC Electrical Circuit Analysis, an open educational resource (OER). The goal of this text is to introduce the theory and practical application of analysis of DC electrical circuits. It is offered free of charge under a Creative Commons non-commercial, share-alike with attribution license. For your convenience, along with the free pdf and odt files, print copies are available at a very modest charge. Check my web sites for links.

Students create a concept design of their very own net-zero energy classroom by pasting renewable energy and energy-efficiency items into and around a pretend classroom on a sheet of paper. They learn how these items (such as solar panels, efficient lights, computers, energy meters, etc.) interact to create a learning environment that produces as much energy as it uses.

Learn about types and sources of industrial emissions and tools to mitigate them. Learn what the options are for climate-neutral electricity and review the strategies for dealing with the variability of renewable energy.

This course is designed for the next generation of policy-makers, sustainability consultants or professionals and students from various fields who want an overview of climate change mitigation strategies in industry and electricity generation and apply them to their own projects.

This course covers a wide variety of topics in the industry and electricity generation domains, from the current situation to the challenging mission of becoming climate-neutral. Specifically:

Industry – You will learn about types and sources of industrial emissions. You will also learn about the existing technological options, methodologies and tools to mitigate emissions (mainly GHG) inside and outside the boundaries of the industrial plant.
Electricity generation – you will learn what the options are for climate-neutral electricity and review the strategies for dealing with the variability of renewable energy, as well as how energy system modeling is used to devise plans and policies for the energy transition.
The course includes videos, examples, interviews with experts, exercises and quizzes so that you can master and practice what you have learnt and explore mitigation strategies through real life examples. Enriched by relevant readings and discussion forums, this course will let you dive deeper into specific areas of interest you might have and further facilitate your learning experience.

Course material and exercises will be complemented by relevant content about policy, through which you will also discover current measures taken by governments world-wide.

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members design and build door alarms using a variety of materials, including aluminum foil, batteries, and buzzers.

Students investigate circuits and their components by building a basic thermostat. They learn why key parts are necessary for the circuit to function, and alter the circuit to optimize the thermostat temperature range. They also gain an awareness of how electrical engineers design circuits for the countless electronic products in our world.

Direct Energy Conversion discusses both the physics behind energy conversion processes and a wide variety of energy conversion devices. A direct energy conversion process converts one form of energy to another through a single process. The first half of this book surveys multiple devices that convert to or from electricity including piezoelectric devices, antennas, solar cells, light emitting diodes, lasers, thermoelectric devices, and batteries. In these chapters, physical effects are discussed, terminology used by engineers in the discipline is introduced, and insights into material selection is studied. The second part of this book puts concepts of energy conversion in a more abstract framework. These chapters introduce the idea of calculus of variations and illuminate relationships between energy conversion processes.

A favorite movie, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” provides the backdrop scenario for students to discover how harnessing the sun’s energy provides unlimited power for many purposes, including the operation of thousands of satellites in orbit today and communication over long distances. In the movie, E.T., an alien life form, is stranded on Earth and befriends Elliott, the little boy who rescues him. As E.T. becomes gravely ill, Elliott realizes that E.T. needs to return home in order to survive. To arrange for transport, E.T. must “phone home.” Teams engage in an interactive quest to answer the question: E.T. phone home—fact or fiction? They must discover four clues in order to unlock four padlocks on a box that contains the answer. This requires them to watch a one-minute online video, complete a crossword puzzle, scan three QR codes for articles to read, and put together a cut-apart puzzle with an invisible ink clue. They watch short online movie excerpt videos to kick off and wrap up the activity.

Play hockey with electric charges. Place charges on the ice, then hit start to try to get the puck in the goal. View the electric field. Trace the puck's motion. Make the game harder by placing walls in front of the goal. This is a clone of the popular simulation of the same name marketed by Physics Academic Software and written by Prof. Ruth Chabay of the Dept of Physics at North Carolina State University.

Play hockey with electric charges. Place charges on the ice, then hit start to try to get the puck in the goal. View the electric field. Trace the puck's motion. Make the game harder by placing walls in front of the goal. This is a clone of the popular simulation of the same name marketed by Physics Academic Software and written by Prof. Ruth Chabay of the Dept of Physics at North Carolina State University.

Play ball! Add charges to the Field of Dreams and see how they react to the electric field. Turn on a background electric field and adjust the direction and magnitude. (Kevin Costner not included).

In this lesson on branch circuits in electrical wiring, students will explore installing devices, calculating load and location, and safety in electrical wiring of branch circuits. Documents include a slide presentation and notes, NEC diagram, and four student practice worksheets.  

Current is the flow of charge. We measure current by counting the amount of charge passing through a boundary in one second. Created by Willy McAllister.