Explore the science of space exploration. Pupils consider technological advances in propulsion, communication, power, navigation, and imaging. They select one of these areas and create a timeline of historical progress that contributed...

Hear from deep space. Pupils learn how satellites transfer information back to Earth. They learn about three different ways to modulate radio waves and how a satellite sends information with only 0s and 1s. Using sound, class members...

Article reports on how electric eels use bursts of electricity to control the movements of their prey. Includes a list of key vocabulary and a video.

One of the "Episodes in Romantic Science," this is as complete as a biography gets without being a book. Includes great information about Oersted and his electromagnetic work, The definitive source. Heavily footnoted with many additional...

Instructions for how to make an electrical thermometer. The electrical thermometer works like this - the design consists of four resistors each made from about 40 meters of very thin copper wire. The electrical resistance of wire changes...

Great site explores the physics behind an electrical guitar. Outlines process for conducting an experiment on sound vibrations and provides animated GIF movies showing the first five modes of vibration.

This very simple, but effective generator shows in a wonderfully engaging way the fundamentals of electricity generation. The generator is made from a coil of wire wound around the outside of a plastic 35mm-film can. The two coil ends...

Review how an electric force behaves between like or opposite charges, and its dependence on separation distance and charge magnitude. Compare the electric force and gravitational force.

Overview of the key terms and skills related to electric charge, including how to calculate net charge.

This article helps students understand the concepts of electricity and circuits.

The use of electricity is explained as related to transistors and bits.

Review the components of a circuit and their symbols such as battery, resistor, and switch. Analyze how the power of a resistor is related to the current and electric potential difference across the resistor.

Review the key terms, equations, and skills related to Ohm's law, including how electric potential difference, current, and resistance are related.

Lord Kelvin (William Thomson) developed electrostatic theory and a range of novel and interesting electrostatic apparatuses. Described here is a reconstruction of a water dropper electrostatic generator. It's capable of generating...

A very simple electrical resistance thermometer is described that can be built, calibrated and tested in a school laboratory at virtually no cost. With it, flames, focused sunlight and other high temperature sources can be probed. The...

What is static electricity and what causes it?

A very simple device to convert light into sound can be made by wiring a solar cell directly to headphones (or an earpiece). The solar cell converts light into electricity and the headphones convert electricity into sound. The limitation...

Described is a simple low cost home-made device that converts the radio wave energy from a mobile phone signal into electricity to light an LED. No battery or complex circuitry is required. The device can form the basis of a range of...

Soldering requires more skill than it looks. As with a lot of practical skills one learns a lot by trail, error and experience. Some tips are discussed here. These notes were written before regulations were introduced requiring solder to...

Explains the design of two circuits that can flash an LED from a single 1.5V battery. A typical LED needs 2-3V to work properly and both these circuits include a voltage doubler to boost the voltage to drive the LED. Both circuits will...

There are so many different types of LEDs on the market (even of the same size and color), how do you tell the difference between them and which one you should use for your particular application? The simple tests descibed here compare...

Explains the design of circuits that can be used to multiply and rectify AC voltages, e.g., to increase voltage in order to light an LED more effectively and get a brighter light from it.

Describes research into the freezing point of water and how scientists have frozen it at different temperatures, depending on the electric charge.

After completing the electrical engineering project called Ant Bot, improve your machine and share your ideas with others.