Electricity

Without gasoline, the world as we know it would grind to a screeching halt. The U.S. alone consumes well over a hundred billion gallons of gasoline per year. Learn all about this vital fuel.

ByMarshall Brain

Static electricity happens when there's an imbalance between negative and positive charges in an object. It's when those charges get released that we feel that infamous spark.

By塞巴斯蒂安Deffner

What happens when there's too much voltage? Learn about the difference between voltage surges and spikes from this article.

ByHowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Scientists have figured out why some objects stick more to each other. And it's a very cool trick.

ByAlia Hoyt

Nights on Earth are getting artificially brighter, bringing unintended consequences.

ByPatrick J. Kiger

Electricity completely surrounds us whether you're charging your cell phone or watching the sky light up during a violent thunderstorm. For most of us, modern life would be impossible without it, and the natural world relies on it.

ByMarshall Brain,William Harris&Robert Lamb

Electrical insulators are materials that don't conduct electricity because the electrons in the atoms of which they're made don't move around. Learn what the different electrical insulators are in this article.

ByHowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Voltage is how we measure the difference in electric potential energy. Learn about what voltage is from this article.

ByHowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Thanks to the Faraday cage, we can control electricity and make it safer for our computers, cars and other inventions.

ByChris Pollette&Nathan Chandler

You want to learn how to read the electric power meter in your home to see if the meter reader sent by the electric company was accurate. This article will teach you how to read a power meter.

ByHowStuffWorks.com Contributors