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=__**Electromagnetic Energy**__=

**What is electromagnetic energy?**
Electromagnetic energy is the interactions between electrons and protons. It has two parts: electricity and magnetism. Electricity is caused by the movement of electrons while magnetism is caused by the orientation of the electrons, or which way they are spinning around the nucleus. You cannot have one without the other because a moving electric charge (electricity) causes a magnetic field while it moves (magnetism). Electrical energy, a type of electromagnetic energy, is the energy of electrically charged particles. When a positive electrical charge and negative electrical charge are nearby, the two particles will attract, or move towards each other. Likewise, when two of the same electrical charge particles are near each other, they will repel, or move away from each other. Negative charges develop in a place where electrons abide. When there are barely any electrons, the locations bears a positive charge. Electric potential exists between two nearby places when they develop opposite electrical charges. When given a path to follow, charged particles will "flow" from their original place to the other, causing an electric current. Electricity that flows through wires can only flow through closed circuits. They are circuits that start at the source of the electricity and ends at a device where the electricity is utilized or released, with no gaps or breaks in its path. This flow of electricity results in electric potential energy converting into the kinetic energy of the moving particles. Most of the time, these electrons are moving through a wire but not always. Lightning is an example where this energy is not confined to a wire but appears in nature. Another type of electromagnetic energy is magnetic energy. All magnets have two ends called poles. One end is the magnetic north pole and the other is the magnetic south pole. The pull of a magnet reaches its pinnacles at its poles. Like positive and negative electrical charges, opposite poles attract each other and similar poles repel.

**How is electromagnetic energy used?**
One practical way electromagnetic energy is utilized is through alternating current (AC) generators. Invented by Nikola Tesla, this electrical system continues to be world standards and generates the electrical current that flows to your home. AC is produced at a power plant as the generator changes mechanical energy to electrical energy. These machines use turbines to spin a coil around a magnet. Most turbines are push by steam as a result of burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. This causes the blades of the turbine to rotate. Another way the generator's turbine can be powered is by wind and water controlled by dams. Once the electrical current is produced at the power plant, it travels to a transformer where the voltage, or pressure that moves the electric current through a conductor, is increased. Voltage is measured in volts. High voltage is dangerous to use at your home even though it is good at traveling long distances along power lines. The current stops at another transformer where the voltage is decreased and low enough and safe enough to enter your home and power your devices.









**Abstract**
The purpose of the experiment was to illuminate the light bulb in four different ways. The methods required the use of a wire, a battery, and light bulb. The first method consisted of attaching one of the wire's clips to the negative terminal. The other clip was positioned to touch the threads of the light bulb while its electrical foot contact was placed against the right terminal. The second method partly resembled the first as one clip was still attached to the negative terminal but the other was positioned to touch the light bulb's electrical foot contact. Its threads were placed against the right terminal. The third method was identical to the first and the fourth to the second except the wires' clips were attached to the positive terminal instead of the negative. Batteries produce small amounts of electrical energy through chemicals, which react in different ways, creating an electric potential between their terminals. This energy is converted to kinetic energy when a battery is attached to a light bulb. In this experiment, the circuit started with the battery and electricity flowed through the wire until it reached the light bulb. Depending on where the wire placed, it either flowed through its electrical contact foot to the filament and out through the threads into the light bulb to light it or through the threads to the filament and out through the electrical contact foot. Either way, the light bulb was lit and electricity flowed back to the battery.