4 Work in pairs. Imagine that you are at home. What common electrical appliances do you normally use?

Ask and answer questions about your home appliances.

Example: Student A: Do you use an electric kettle at home?

Student B: Oh no! I think it’s an energy-consuming device and I’m money- conscious.

A: But an electric kettle is a time –saving device, isn’t it?

B: Yes, it is.

A: And, as you know, time is money.

Make use of the phrases below.

It’s a useless thing…, an innovative staff…, it’s a waste of money…, it’s time (energy, money) consuming,

I’m environment (fashion, comfort)-conscious…, it is not reliable.

5 Match the words to the definitions.

1 appear v a) the speed of something in a particular direction

2 charge n b) not having, experiencing or showing something

3 discover v c) the amount of electricity that is put into a battery or carried by a substance

4 since adv d) to be written or mentioned somewhere

5 significant a e) to produce or design something that has not existed before

6 velocity n f) from a time in the past until a later past time, or until now 7 without prep g) large or important enough to have an effect or to be noticed

8 invent v h) to find something that already exists or learn about it for the first time, before

anyone else does.

6 Write the noun form of the verbs.

appear ___________ reduce ____________ turn _____________

imagine ___________ replace ____________ solve _____________

discover ___________ develop ____________ effect ____________

invent ___________ generate ____________ believe ____________

7 Choose the correct alternative.

1 We owe to a certain extend, our ‘electrical lives’ to those who invented/ discovered electricity.

2 We can’t imagine living with/without electricity.

3 Lightning is simply an electrical charge/discharge.

4 The magnetic affect/effect of minerals like magnetite was known to the ancient Greeks.

5 James Maxwell discovered /developed the electromagnetic theory of light.

8 Read the article about the history of electricity. Which of the following facts are not mentioned?

a) origin of the word electricity b) electricity is a natural phenomenon c) attractive effect of amber

d) electrical shock as a cure e) Maxwell’s equations f) positive and negative charges

Useful notes

catfish [ˈkætfɪʃ]- сом

feather [ˈfeðə]- перо

Thales of Miletus [ˈθeɪliːz əv maɪ'liːtəs] – Фалес Милетский, древнегреческий философ и математик.

William Gilbert- Уильям Гильберт, английский физик и естествоиспытатель.

lodestone [ˈləʊdstəʊn] -магнит

Pseudodoxia Epidemica (лат.) – сочинение Томаса Брауна «Ошибки и заблуждения»

Charles Coulomb- Шарль Огюстен де Кулон, французский военный инженер и учёный-физик.

Luidgi Galvani- Луиджи Гальвани, итальянский врач, физиолог и физик.

Alessandro Volta- Алессандро Вольта, итальянский физик, химик и физиолог.

Georg Ohm – Георг Cимон Ом, немецкий физик.

James Maxwell- Джеймс Максвелл, британский физик, математик и механик.

Electricity is a force of nature and has been around us since the creation of universe.

Since ancient times, people have come across various instances of electricity being manifested in nature.

The earliest mention of electric phenomena is found in ancient Egyptian texts from about 2750 BC

(roughly 4750 years ago). These texts talk about electric fish that were known as ‘Thunders of the Nile’

and defenders of other fish. So the earliest discovery of electricity in recorded history was in the form of

bio-electricity!

The mention of this electric fish like catfish has been found in Greek, Roman and Arabic chronicles.

In fact in some instances, there is even a mention of electrical shocks from these fish being used as a cure

for headaches.

Many ancient civilizations have reported the attractive effect that amber has on light objects like feathers

when rubbed against cat fur. The magnetic effect of minerals like magnetite was known to the ancient Greeks.

Around 600 BC, a Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, investigated the static electric effect of amber and

wrongly classified it as a magnetic effect arising out of friction. However, later in modern times, electricity

and magnetism were proved to be the two manifestations of a single force of electromagnetism.

After that, in 1600 AD, an Englishman named William Gilbert studied the phenomena of electricity and

magnetism and distinguished between the electric effect of amber and magnetic effect of lodestone.

He gave the name ‘electricus’ (Latin) to the phenomenon of attraction showed by amber. Not surprisingly,

it was derived from the ancient Greek word for amber, which was ‘eleckron’. This gave rise to the modern

word of electricity which first appeared in print in the book Pseudodoxia Epidemica written by Sir Thomas

Brown in 1646.

In the 18^th century, Benjamin Franklin used the Leyden jar to establish that lightning is simply an electrical

discharge, Charles Coulomb demonstrated that the force between charges is inversely related to the square

of the distance between the charges, Luigi Galvani performed experiments revealing that electricity is present

in every animal, and Alessandro Volta developed the forerunner of the electric battery.

Later, in the 19^th century, Georg Ohm introduced an important relationship between potential, current, and

resistance which we now refer to as Ohm’s law, Michael Faraday demonstrated his theory of electromagnetic

induction, James Maxwell developed the electromagnetic theory of light, which among other things , revealed

that electromagnetic waves travel through air at the velocity of light.

By the end of the 1800s, a significant number of the fundamental equations, laws, and relationships had been

established, a various fields of study, including electronics, power generation, and calculating equipment,

started to develop in earnest.

Thus we see that the history of electricity runs right from the period before Christ up to the computer age

today. We owe to a certain extent, our ‘electrical lives’ to those who discovered electricity. Thanks to them,

the lightning of the skies was put to good use on Earth, in the form of this brilliant energy we can’t imagine

living without – electricity.