How is Electricity Used?     

  Nature Connection

Electricity is not always about power lines, wires, and batteries. Nature has examples of electricity other than lightning. Sometimes what you hear about electricity may "shock" you!

Explore some examples of electricity and magnetism in the natural world with some questions to see if you believe them. Read these statements about electricity and magnetism in nature, and decide whether each is true or false. 


Electricity in Nature: True or False?


A:   True! The electric eel has organs that can make electricity. An electric eel uses small shocks to hunt for prey and to find its way on the muddy river bottom.


 
Electric eels shock with large amounts of electricity only when they are defending themselves.

A:   True! Explosions on the surface of the Sun can send large amounts of charges racing to Earth. These solar storms can cause too much electricity to flow in power lines, making them shut down. This happened in 1989 and knocked out power to almost all the whole province of Quebec.



An artist's view of the appearance of a solar storm

A:   True! When lightning strikes sandy soil, the electricity can heat the sand to about 2000 ËšC. This melts the sand instantly. When it cools, a glass tube called a fulgurite is formed.


Fulgurites come in interesting shapes and colours.

A:   False! Lightning cannot cause volcanoes. However, the reverse is true! When volcanoes erupt, they sometimes release large amounts of ash into the air. When the particles of ash in the air rub together, charges form, which leads to volcanic lightning.



Volcanoes look even more spectacular with lightning!