Moving electrons have energy and make electric current, which we call electricity.

Electric current is a flow of moving electrons. The kind of energy in electric current is called electrical energy. Wires in your house carry electric current into lamps, toasters, microwaves, computers, and televisions. The appliances change the electric energy into other forms of energy, such as light, heat, or sound.

What gets the electrons to move? Think back to the example of the red and blue marbles in the bowls. The blue marble didn’t just “jump” out of one bowl into the other bowl; you had to move it. In order for one of the blue marbles to move from one bowl to another, you had to exert some energy. Similarly, electrons don’t move from one place to another place without some energy to make them move.

To create a flow of electrons (an electrical current) that moves from one place to another, some energy source is needed. Batteries are one such energy source, using chemical energy to produce an electric current. Pressure that causes movement (such as a windmill or waterfall), light from the sun, and heat generated from burning materials can also act as sources of energy to generate an electric current.