Electric Energy

            Discovering how to harness electric energy was one of the biggest steps in history. Electric energy powers nearly every device civilization owns.

            Electric energy can be produced in a number of ways. Hydroelectric power is quite popular, although nuclear power has become more prevalent. Each one of the methods has its own drawbacks, although more people are frightened of nuclear power plants due to the danger it directly poses to humans.

            The most common means of using electric energy is to connect the device into a outlet that provides electricity through means of a plug. Other devices are able to access electric energy through means of stored energy in batteries. Batteries are electrochemical cells that store electric energy in a chemical form. Batteries used to be galvanic cells, but alkaline and nickel cadmium batteries are currently the most prevalent.

            Electrical energy occurs often in nature. Lightning, as discovered by Ben Franklin, is created by electrical discharges from the clouds to the earth, and all matter is held together at the atomic level by electrical forces. Living beings also produce a small of amount of electric energy, and creatures such as the electric eel can generate a large amount of electric energy in order to stun prey and predators.