aluminum: A metallic element, the third most abundant in Earth’s crust. It is light and soft, and used in many items from bicycles to spacecraft.
ampere: A rate of electrical current equal to one coulomb per second.
attention: The phenomenon of focusing mental resources on a specific object or event.
battery: A device that can convert chemical energy into electrical energy.
ceramic: A hard but brittle material made by firing clay or some other non-metal-based mineral at a high temperature. Bricks, porcelain and other types of earthenware are examples of ceramics. Many high-performance ceramics are used in industry where materials must withstand harsh conditions.
chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions between different compounds.
chemical reaction: A process that involves the rearrangement of the molecules or structure of a substance, as opposed to a change in physical form (as from a solid to a gas).
conductor: (in physics and engineering) A material through which an electrical current can flow.
copper: A metallic chemical element in the same family as silver and gold. Because it is a good conductor of electricity, it is widely used in electronic devices.
current: A fluid — such as of water or air — that moves in a recognizable direction. (in electricity) The flow of electricity or the amount of charge moving through some material over a particular period of time.
data: Facts and/or statistics collected together for analysis but not necessarily organized in a way that gives them meaning. For digital information (the type stored by computers), those data typically are numbers stored in a binary code, portrayed as strings of zeros and ones.
detergent: A compound derived from petroleum products, often used for cleaning. Detergents work by breaking up and surrounding dirt particles or oily substances, so that they can be washed away with water.
digital: (in computer science and engineering) An adjective indicating that something has been developed numerically on a computer or on some other electronic device, based on a binary system (where all numbers are displayed using a series of only zeros and ones).
electric charge: The physical property responsible for electric force; it can be negative or positive.
electric current: A flow of electric charge — electricity — usually from the movement of negatively charged particles, called electrons.
electricity: A flow of charge, usually from the movement of negatively charged particles, called electrons.
electrochemical: An adjective for processes by which electricity affects chemical changes in some substance and also how chemical energy can be converted to electrical energy or vice versa.
electrode: A device that conducts electricity and is used to make contact with the non-metal part of an electrical circuit, or that contacts something through which an electrical signal moves. (in electronics) Part of a semiconductor device (such as a transistor) that either releases or collects electrons (negative charges) or holes (positive charges) — or that can control their movement.
electrolyte: A non-metallic liquid or solid that conducts ions — electrically charged atoms or molecules — to carry electrical charges. (Certain minerals in blood or other bodily fluids can serve as the ions that move to carry a charge.) Electrolytes also can serve as the ions that move positive charges within a battery or capacitor.
electromagnetism: The science that has to do with the physical links between electricity and magnetism. It’s also the term for the properties of an electric current that cause it to generate a magnetic field. This term can also be applied to the physical force (the electromagnetic force) that governs interactions between charged particles and which are due to their electric charge and their release or absorption of light (photons).
electron: A negatively charged particle, usually found orbiting the outer regions of an atom; also, the carrier of electricity within solids.
glass: A hard, brittle substance made from silica, a mineral found in sand. Glass usually is transparent and fairly inert (chemically nonreactive).
ion: (adj. ionized) An atom or molecule with an electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons. An ionized gas, or plasma, is where all of the electrons have been separated from their parent atoms.
LED: (short for light emitting diode) Electronic components that, as their name suggests, emit light when electricity flows through them. LEDs are very energy-efficient and often can be very bright. They have lately been replacing conventional lights for home and commercial lamps.
liquid: A material that flows freely but keeps a constant volume, like water or oil.
magnetism: The attractive influence, or force, created by certain materials, called magnets, or by the movement of electric charges.
metal: Something that conducts electricity well, tends to be shiny (reflective) and is malleable (meaning it can be reshaped with heat and not too much force or pressure).
nickel: Number 28 on the periodic table of elements, this hard, silvery element resists oxidation and corrosion. That makes it a good coating for many other elements or for use in multi-metal alloys.
particle: A minute amount of something.
plastic: Any of a series of materials that are easily deformable; or synthetic materials that have been made from polymers (long strings of some building-block molecule) that tend to be lightweight, inexpensive and resistant to degradation.
preliminary: An early step or stage that precedes something more important.
salt: A compound made by combining an acid with a base (in a reaction that also creates water). The ocean contains many different salts — collectively called “sea salt.” Common table salt is a made of sodium and chlorine.
solution: A liquid in which one chemical has been dissolved into another.
square: (in geometry) A rectangle with four sides of equal length.
Styrofoam: A trademarked name for a type of rigid foam made from light-weight polystyrene plastic. It is used for everything from home craft projects to decorative ornaments and building insulation.
voltage: A force associated with an electric current that is measured in units known as volts. Power companies use high-voltage to move electric power over long distances.