Our modern lifestyle depends a great deal on electricity. Electricity is used for everything from opening cans to trimming hedges, from providing light for reading to delivering music on your stereo systems, from operating the microwave oven to operating your computer.

How is electricity useful?

Electricity is useful in so many ways, we couldn't count them all. It provides the light and energy to beam TV programs to our television sets. It can be used to heat water for baths and showers, help blow our dry hair, cut the grass and open garage doors. Think about it and you will see just how much we use electricity.

How Fast is electricity?

The Concord Jetliner is pretty fast. It travels faster than the speed of sound, but it's no match for electricity.

Electricity travels at approximately 299,330 kilometres per second. Imagine standing at a point on the Earth's equator and watching a dot of electicity travel around the planet. That dot would pass you seven times every second. Now that's fast.

How Safe is Electricity?

Electricity is very safe. But you need to follow basic safety rules.

Electricity always wants to get to the ground and it will take the easiest path it can. This is true wherever electricity is found. At a transformer station, in a factory, at home, at school or at a scene of an accident. Electricity is safe as long as it is controlled. The only time you can receive a shock or be injured is when electricity is able to enter and leave you body.