A form of energy produced by manipulating the charge of electron particles and forcing charged electrons along a specific path.

Electricity is common only because it is so easily controlled and transported across long distances. Prior to the electronics revolution, electricity itself was rarely needed as an actual form of energy. Many common devices still convert electricity to another form of energy in order tk make the energy usable. Heating elements, for example, convert electrical energy to heat energy. Electric motors convert it to kinetic energy. Lightbulbs turn it into light energy.

Electronic devices use electricity directly, although the electricity supplied to these devices usually has to be modified in some way before it is usable. A typical audio amplifier chip used in a portable stereo or radio must have electricity received from an AC (alternating current) outlet converted to DC (direct current), and its voltage must then be reduced to a small fraction of the 120 volts usually supplied from the outlet. Computers are even more finicky, and require both very low current and very precisely-controlled power.

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