Electrical phenomena

From Free net encyclopedia

Electrical phenomena are commonplace and unusual events that can be observed which illuminate the principles of the physics of electricity and are explained by them. Electrical phenomena are a somewhat arbitrary division of electromagnetic phenomena.

Some examples are:

Contact electrification — The phenomenon of electrification by contact. When two objects were touched together, sometimes the objects became spontaneously charged (One negative charge, one positive charge).
Electroluminescence — The phenomenon where a material emits light in response to an electric current passed through it, or to a strong electric field.
Electrical conduction — The movement of electrically charged particles through transmission medium.
Electric shock — Physiological reaction of a biological organism to the passage of electric current through its body.
Ferroelectric effect — The phenomenon whereby certain ionic crystals may exhibit a spontaneous dipole moment.
Galvanic current — Direct Current or "continuous current"; The continuous flow of electricity through a conductor such as a wire from high to low potential.
Lightning — powerful natural electrostatic discharge produced during a thunderstorm. Lightning's abrupt electric discharge is accompanied by the emission of light.
Photoconductivity — The phenomenon in which a material becomes more conductive due to the absorption of electro-magnetic radiation such as visible light, ultraviolet light, or gamma radiation.
Piezoelectric effect — Ability of certain crystals to generate a voltage in response to applied mechanical stress.
Photoelectric effect — Emission of electrons from a surface (usually metallic) upon exposure to, and absorption of, electromagnetic radiation (such as visible light and ultraviolet radiation).
Pyroelectric effect — The potential created in certain materials when they are heated.
Static electricity — Class of phenomena involving the imbalanced charge present on an object, typically referring to charge with voltages of sufficient magnitude to produce visible attraction (eg., static cling), repulsion, and sparks.
Sparks — Electrical breakdown of a medium which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, similar to the instant spark, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air.
Telluric currents — Extremely low frequency electrical current that occurs naturally over large underground areas at or near the surface of the Earth.
Triboelectric effect — Type of contact electrification in which objects become electrically charged after coming into contact and are then separated.
Whistlers Template:Ref — Very low frequency radio wave generated by lightning