Electricity – electrons, insulators and conductors

The term ‘electricity’ comes from ‘elektron’, which is the Greek word for amber. The ancient Greeks discovered that small threads and dust tended to stick to their amber jewellery and that ...

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ARTICLE

Static electricity and electrical charge

An electrical charge is created when electrons are transferred to or removed from an object. Because electrons have a negative charge, when they are added to an object, it becomes negatively ...

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ARTICLE

Humans and the water cycle

We are becoming increasingly aware of our impacts on nature. There is considerable evidence that humans are responsible for disruptions and changes to local and global water cycles. Different ...

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ACTIVITY

Making an electromagnet

Magnetism and electricity are forces generated by the movement of electrons. They are both electromagnetic forces – the interplay of these two forces is the basis for many modern technologies ...

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ARTICLE

What is energy?

This is both a simple and complex question. Energy is in everything – it is often described as ‘the ability to do work’. Almost all food energy comes originally from sunlight. The chemical ...

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INTERACTIVE

The electromagnetic spectrum

This interactive looks at the electromagnetic spectrum. To use this interactive, move your mouse or finger over any of the labelled boxes and select to obtain more information. Select here for a ...

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ARTICLE

Lightning explained

Lightning is a large-scale natural spark discharge that occurs within the atmosphere or between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface. On discharge, a highly electrically conductive plasma ...

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INTERACTIVE

Dynamic and complex: the global water cycle

Water in the Earth system is influencing all aspects of life on Earth. Pathways, storage, transfers and transformations have an effect on the global climate and human welfare. Within this ...

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ARTICLE

Energy sources through time – timeline

Use this timeline to explore how humans have relied on fossil fuels in the past and how we are looking for, and using, new energy sources. 200,000 BC – Fire used Records of the first controlled ...

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ARTICLE

Electricity and sensors

All materials are made up of tiny particles called atoms. Atoms are made up of even smaller particles called protons, neutrons and electrons. The protons found in the atom have a positive charge ...

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ARTICLE

Non-renewable energy sources

Energy comes from many sources, and to describe these sources we use two terms: renewable and non-renewable. Non-renewable energy resources cannot be replaced – once they are used up, they will ...

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ARTICLE

Using solar energy

Solar energy is transformed into other energy forms for our use on Earth – energy for food (chemical energy), electrical energy and heat energy. Food Solar energy (sunlight) is crucial for our ...

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VIDEO

Oil formation

This animated video demonstrates the formation of hydrocarbons over millions of years in the depths of the Earth. Oil and gas forms in sedimentary ocean basins. Dead plankton (organic plant and ...

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ARTICLE

Plasmas and nuclear fusion

Fusion is the process occurring within the plasma core of our Sun in which the nuclei of lighter atoms link to form a heavier atom. For example, when hydrogen nuclei collide, they can fuse into ...

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ARTICLE

History of gases and plasmas – timeline

Use this timeline for a look at some of the historical aspects in the development of our understanding of gases and plasmas. 1644 – Invention of the barometer Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647) ...

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ARTICLE

Renewable energy sources

Renewable energy is fuel that comes from a source that can be replenished in a short amount of time. This includes solar, wind, water, geothermal power and bioenergy. While renewable energy ...

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ARTICLE

Gaseous atmosphere

The Earth’s atmosphere is a layer of gases held close to its surface by gravity. It plays a crucial role in supporting plant and animal life, helps to maintain a global average surface ...

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VIDEO

What fuels the Sun?

In this video, Associate Professor Bob Lloyd states that it is nuclear fusion that fuels the Sun. He then goes on to explain in simple terms how this process works by fusing lighter elements into ...

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ARTICLE

The environmental footprint of electric versus fossil ...

This article, written by Md Arif Hasan and Associate Professor Ralph Brougham Chapman from Environmental Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, is part of the Climate Explained series, that ...

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ARTICLE

Plasma spray-coating

The plasma spraying process involves the generation of a plasma jet, the injection and treatment of particles within the plasma jet and finally the formation of the coating. To generate the ...

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ARTICLE

Hydro power

Hydro power uses water to generate electricity. Most hydro electricity is generated from fresh water, but there is also the potential for marine-generated electricity that uses the movement of ...

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ACTIVITY

Māui and the Sun

In this activity, students are introduced to the concept of harnessing the Sun’s energy for our use on Earth. They will appreciate that the early Māori were also thinking about the Sun in ...

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ARTICLE

Solar power

The Sun is the ‘powerhouse’ of our Earth, producing an impressive 3.8x10²⁶joules (J) of heat energy per second without interruption. The Sun radiates in all directions with approximately 50% of ...

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VIDEO

Why is energy important?

Peter Hall from Scion explains why we need large quantities of carbon neutral energy. Energy is everywhere. Anything we eat or use has energy embodied in it. Every object we produce required ...

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