Electricity makes our modern life possible. We use it to power our lights, heat, computers, music, elevators, refrigerators and thousands of other things.

But most important, we would not exist without electricity. Electricity is necessary to make our brain, heart and other muscles work.

This week, The Mini Page learns more about electricity.

Electron power

Matter is made up of tiny atoms, and they are made up of even tinier particles: protons, electrons and neutrons. Protons and electrons have an electrical charge.

They each have the same amount of charge, no matter what material they’re in. Neutrons have no charge.

Protons have a positive charge, and electrons have a negative charge. There are always the same number of protons and electrons in a neutral atom, or one with no charge. They balance each other out.

Protons and neutrons stay close together in the center, or nucleus, of the atom. Electrons speed around the nucleus in a kind of cloud.

Sometimes electrons leave their atom to join another atom. These traveling electrons are moving electrical charges. They make up an electrical current.

Electrical current

Some atoms can lose or gain electrons more easily than others. For example, in metals such as copper, electrons are more likely to leave their atom and join another atom. The electrons move from atom to atom.

These moving electrons form an electrical current. They flow through a wire much like a current of water flows in a stream. The electrons in a current tend to move in the same direction.

Materials such as copper are good conductors of electricity because electrons can move easily between atoms. Atoms that do not easily lose or gain electrons can make materials known as insulators. For example, rubber is a good insulator. So are glass, plastic and dry wood.

Electricity around us

Have you ever gotten a shock after walking on the carpet? When you rub your feet on the rug, electrons flow from the carpet to your skin. You build up an electrical charge until you touch something that is a good conductor.

If you touch something metal, or your pet, or another person, an electrical current forms between you and what you’re touching, and you get a shock.

A lightning bolt is a much bigger version of what happens when you drag your feet across the carpet.

Electric bodies

Our bodies need electricity to work.

Just like everything else, our bodies are made of atoms. The electrons in those atoms create electricity.

Electrical signals make our muscles work by causing them to contract, or become tighter. They tell our hearts when to beat. We can think because electrical signals flash from cell to cell in our brains.

Electrical power

Electricity is a wonderful part of our lives. But remember: It is powerful. Be careful around electrical outlets or machines. Here are some safety tips:

• Don’t put your fingers or anything else into an outlet or appliance, such as a toaster, even if it is turned off.

• Keep electrical devices such as radios away from water (a good conductor).

• Don’t take apart an electrical appliance, even if it is unplugged.

• Stay away from fences around electrical equipment.

• Don’t fly kites near power lines.

Mini Fact:

Electricity flows throughout the U.S. through a system of wires and stations called the power grid.