What is electricity?

Ordinary materials are made of atoms. An atom has a nucleus containing protons and usually neutrons (ordinary hydrogen has no neutron), surrounded by electrons described by a quantum cloud. Electricity includes phenomena involving electric charge, both stationary charge and moving charge.

When huge numbers of electrons drift through a material in the same direction, we call that flow current. Materials that hand their electrons off easily — like copper — are conductors. Materials that grip their electrons tightly — like plastic or rubber — are insulators and block the flow.

Think of a crowded hallway. If everyone is free to shuffle forward, the crowd flows — that is a conductor carrying current. If a locked door blocks the way, nobody moves — that is an insulator. Real wires combine both: a copper core to carry the flow, wrapped in plastic to keep it contained.