The electricity effect

The electricity effect                                                                                                 031010

                Every one of us uses electricity in some form everyday. We usually take this essential form of energy for granted until the power utility cuts it off. We then realise that we need it more than we can admit. All the same electricity has different effects in different appliances. These are the effects we want to explore and learn a lesson or two from, this week.

                Electricity has a heating effect. This happens when it passes through some appliances producing heat in the process. This heat is sometimes desirable and in other cases it is a nuisance. If you want to cook a meal, or iron your clothes you need an appliance that produces heat. That is where a stove or an iron comes in. The heat these appliances produce is desirable in that for the appliance to do what it is made to do it needs to produce heat. There are other times when such heat production is not necessary or even harmful. This happens in other appliances which are not made to produce heat but they end up doing so and wasting precious energy in the process.

                This heating effect can result in an electric fire if electric cables overheat.  This heating effect occurs when the conductor carrying the electric current offers resistance to this flow of current. Every conductor has some of this characteristic but those made to produce heat are deliberately made with more resistance so that more of the electricity flowing will be converted to heat energy.

                The Appliances which are made to produce heat are not bothered by the fact that they have to be producing heat all the time. They are actually designed in such a way that they can take the heat, as much as is produced. It is the ones not cut out to be heat-producing appliances that suffer if heat is produced accidentally in them.

                The other effect that is common with electricity is the lighting effect. This is what the light bulb does best. It changes the electricity flowing in it to heat and light. Although this appliance is made specifically to produce light, it also produces heat because it also has high resistance. This heat is actually wasted energy, which makes the bulb to produce less light than it would if no heat was produced.

                Light bulbs do not produce the same amount of light even though they are all connected to the same power source. The bulbs used as security lights for use outdoors are generally brighter than those used indoors. The amount of light produced depends on the purpose of the bulb.

                The third effect is not so common. It is the magnetic effect. This is the one that is used to make electric motors work. When electricity flows through a wire it creates a magnetic field around the wire. This can be used in such a way that it can cause a turning effect. The fans and starter motors in cars use this effect. There are more effects that we do not have time to talk about at this moment. These three should suffice to put across the points I want to make.

                The effect that electricity has in each of the appliances we use depends on the appliance itself. If it has high resistance then we will have lots of heat. If we want more heat we must make the appliance have more resistance. If we want more light, we have to choose the correct material that can produce more light than heat when electricity flows.

                We are like electric appliances in more ways than one. There are many ideas that are shared with us over time that give us energy to do great things. It is amazing that when a hundred people sit down to listen to one great man/woman speak, they all come out with different ideas. They may all be inspired but what they do with the same inspiration is different. There are others who make things happen quickly. Like the stove, they use all the provided energy to produce the required results. Others waste the idea and probably use it for destructive ends. The same inspiration that says if you keep working you will reach your desired end may make one want to keep killing with the hope of being rich by robbing others. This is wasted inspiration in that it does more harm than good.

                The effect that ideas will have on you will depend more on who you are than on what ideas you have. In the same way that electricity will have different effects in different bulbs connected to the same source, you may produce more or less light than your neighbor depending on your make-up. If you want more light, change the material you use. You cannot expect to light your house using a hot plate stove. Neither can you cook a meal using a fan, even though all these appliances use electricity. You will produce that which is in line with what you are on the inside.

                Check yourself closely for characteristics that produce the effects you want in your life. If they are not available then you have to consider changing in order to produce what you want. It is not in the ideas that you receive that you make a great impact in life. It is in who you are.