The words and terms used to describe energy and electricity can be rather complex. If you're not sure what a particular energy term means, use the alphabetical list below to find out!
Ampere: The ampere is a measure applied to the flow of electrons or flow of electric current.
Atom: Primary basis of all matter. It has a nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons surrounded by orbiting electrons .
Battery: A single electric cell for furnishing electric current, or a group of such cells.
Biomass: Material composed of garbage, leaf and yard debris, and other organic materials. When decomposed, it serves as a source of methane gas that is used for fuel.
Circuit: The complete path or part of the path of an electric current.
Charge: The electrical property of electrons and protons that produces attraction and repulsion between them.
Conductor: In a conductor, electric current can flow freely. Simply stated, most metals are good electrical conductors, most non-metals are not.
Current: Is the flow of electrons. Water flowing in a pipe is similar to electric current. You need voltage to make the current flow, just like water pressure is needed to make the water flow. It's impossible to see an electric current, but it's there – and is used to run everything from a light to your CD player.
Direct current: Current where the flow of electrons never changes direction.
Distribution system: The poles, wires, cables, substations and other equipment required to transport electricity energy from the transmission system to people's homes.
Distribution network: The overall network formed by the Distribution System.
Efficiency: Found in electrical energy. It is the amount of a utility's power generation process that is efficiently used to produce power. However some power can be lost in the transmission process.
Electron: The basic particle that orbits the nucleus of an atom. It can be stimulated o movement by various forces like magnetism and has a negative charge.
Energy: The capacity to do work, or many forms of conversion, using various fuels.
Fluorescent lights: Lights where the source of light is produced by gas that glows when connected to electricity. Fluorescent light bulbs have a very long life – between 8000 and 20,000 hours. They use up to 75 percent less power than regular light bulbs.
Frequency: For alternating current electricity, the number of cycles (or change of the direction of electron flow) occurring in each second. The term Hertz (Hz) corresponds to cycles per second.
Fuel cell: Used in electrical generation. This is an apparatus used for combining fuel and oxides to generate electricity. It is the conversion of chemicals to electrical energy.
Fuse: A safety device with a metal wire or strip that will melt, breaking the electrical circuit when the current becomes too strong.
Generator: A machine for producing electrical current. (See turbine)
Generating plant: A location where certain fuels (coal, natural gas, or nuclear) or hydropower are converted to electrical power.
Geothermal energy: The potential energy contained in the Earth. Molten rock heats underground water into a stream, which, in some locations, may be harnessed to drive turbines to generate electricity.
Heat pump: Apparatus that transfers heat from one location to another using some kind of energy such as electricity. The key component of an air conditioner or fridge.
Hydroelectricity: In electrical generation, it is the use of the power from rushing water to push turbine blades, which turn shafts in generators that produce electricity.
Insulator: A material (such as plastic or glass) that does not permit electricity to pass through it readily.
Inter-connector - A transmission line or group of transmission lines that connects the transmission networks in adjacent regions.
Ion: An atom that has lost or gained electrons and by doing so, becomes electrically charged.
Joule: A metric measurement of force equal to one Newton operating through the distance or one metre.
Kilowatt: Equal to 1000 watts of electricity.
Kilowatt hour: Measurement of electricity equal to one kilowatt of power produced or used in one hour.
Kinetic energy: The energy of an object in motion.
Laser: The light energy amplified by electrical impulses.
Lightning: The flash of light which accompanies a static electricity discharge between two clouds or between a cloud and the earth during a thunderstorm.
Magnet: A piece of material that has the natural ability to attract iron.
Magnetic field: The area around a magnet that is influenced by the magnet.
Mechanical energy: The energy of motion used to perform work.
Megawatt: 1,000,000 watts of power or 1,000 kilowatts.
Meter: A device which measures and records the production or consumption of electrical energy.
Methane gas: A chemical compound that is a major part of natural gas.
Molecule: The smallest group of atoms held together by electrostatic forces.
National grid: The sum of all the connected transmission systems and distribution systems within the participating jurisdictions. In Australia it is called the National Electricity Market (NEM).
Natural gas: A colourless gas that can be used as fuel in the generation of electricity, in the production of mechanical energy or in heat.
Neutron: A basic particle that is a little heavier than a proton. It is said to have neutral electrical charge.
Nuclear power: The energy produced by splitting atoms (such as uranium) in a nuclear reactor.
Off-peak power: The amount of power generation during a period of low consumer demand.
Ohm's law: An equation that states: the current flowing through certain conductors is proportional to the potential difference (voltage) across it, or, current equals voltage divided by the resistance.
Photovoltaic cell: A device where light energy is converted to electrical energy. Also known as a solar cell.
Proton: A basic particle present in an atom's nucleus, which has a positive charge.
Roentgen: A unit of exposure to radiation like X-rays.
Solar energy: The use of energy that reaches the Earth from the sun.
Socket: A hollow thing or place that receives and holds something (such as an electric light socket).
Static electricity: A type of electrical charge that can build up when two objects rub together. Friction removes some electrons from one object and deposits them on the other.
Substation: A facility at which two or more lines are switched for operational purposes. May include one or more transformers so that some connected lines operate at different nominal voltages to others.
Superconductor: Used in some electrical equipment. It is a material that when cooled to near absolute zero, has negligable electrical resistance.
Thermal energy: The energy derived from heat.
Transmission lines: The wires for getting high voltage electricity from one place to another.
Turbine-generator: An electric generator driven by a turbine; the turbine has blades that are made to rotate by the force of water, gas, steam or the wind.
Volt: The volt is the unit of measure for electro-motive force required to pass one ampere through resistance of one ohm.
Watt: A unit for measuring electric power, eg. 1 horse power = 746 watts. One Kilowatt = 1000 watts. One Megawatt = 1,000,000 watts.
Wind turbine: A machine that captures the energy of the wind and transfers the motion to a generator shaft.
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