Electrical energy is not generally referred to as electrical energy for the layperson, and is most commonly known as electricity. Electrical energy is the scientific form of electricity, and refers to the flow of power or the flow of charges along a conductor to create energy. Electrical energy is known to be a secondary source of energy, which means that we obtain electrical energy through the conversion of other forms of energy. These other forms of energy are known as the primary sources of energy and can be used from coal, nuclear energy, natural gas, or oil. The primary sources from which we create electrical energy can be either non-renewable forms of energy or renewable forms of energy. Electrical energy however is neither non-renewable or renewable.
Electrical energy is a standard part of nature, and today it is our most widely used form of energy. Many towns and cities were developed beside waterfalls which are known to be primary sources of mechanical energy. Wheels would be built in the waterfalls and the falls would turn the wheels in order to create energy that fueled the cities and towns. Before this type of electrical energy generation was developed, homes would be lit with candles and kerosene lamps, and would be warmed with coal or wood-burning stoves.
Benjamin Franklin and the famous story of a kite on a stormy evening was the first to discover the initial principles of electrical energy. Thomas Edison came along to perfect these principles with the invention of the light bulb. Following this, Nikola Tesla developed the notion of AC electrical energy, which referred to as alternating current electrical energy. With AC energy, electrical energy could be transmitted over much larger distances. With this discovery, electrical energy could then be used to light homes and to power machines that would be more effective at heating homes as well.
It is important to understand that electrical energy is not a kind of energy in and of itself, but it is rather a form of transferring energy from one object or element to another. The energy that is being transferred is the electrical energy. In order for electrical energy to transfer at all, it must have a conductor or a circuit that will enable the transfer of the energy. This is what Benjamin Franklin discovered when the electrical energy was transferred from the lightning to his kite, with the kite acting as his conductor or circuit. Electrical energy will occur when electric charges are moving or changing position from one element or object to another. When the electrical energy is moved, it is frequently stored in what we know of today as batteries or energy cells.
