electricity

Discussions of artificial intelligence (AI) are inseparable from questions of ethics. In 1942, Isaac Asimov famously popularised the idea that intelligent machines should adhere to a...

This article documents the history of the electric car – first developed in 1890, and uses diagrams and text to explain the technology electric cars and...

This article, written by Md Arif Hasan and Associate Professor Ralph Brougham Chapman from Environmental Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, is part of the Climate Explained...

An electrical charge is created when electrons are transferred to or removed from an object. Because electrons have a negative charge, when they are added to...

The term ‘electricity’ comes from ‘elektron’, which is the Greek word for amber. The ancient Greeks discovered that small threads and dust tended to stick to...

Magnetism and electricity are forces generated by the movement of electrons. They are both electromagnetic forces – the interplay of these two forces is the basis...

An inquiry approach is a method often used in science education. The question bank provides an initial list of questions about monitoring our environment using artificial...

Monitoring our world using artificial sensors Artificial sensors enable us to overcome the limitations of our human senses and extend them in novel and useful ways,...

Three historic discoveries were instrumental in the development of electric motors – the invention of the battery by Alessandro Volta in 1800, the generation of a...

REV it UP is a Taranaki-based Participatory Science Platform (PSP) project supported by the New Zealand Government. New Plymouth Boys’ High School and local engineering firm...

Use this timeline for a look at some of the historical aspects in the development of our understanding of gases and plasmas. 1644 – Invention of...

In this activity, students view a short video on lightning phenomena and then answer a set of questions based on the video. They will then log...

Position: Contract lecturer, University of Otago. Field: Energy management Eric grew up in the US as part of a family deeply involved in science and engineering....

Position: Professor, Head of Department of Physcis, University of Otago. Field: Space physics Craig developed a fascination for space science from a very early age. He...

Position: Senior lecturer, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland. Field: Plasma spray-coating, Chemical and materials engineering. Steven developed an interest in science while attending Western...

The plasma spraying process involves the generation of a plasma jet, the injection and treatment of particles within the plasma jet and finally the formation of...

Fusion is the process occurring within the plasma core of our Sun in which the nuclei of lighter atoms link to form a heavier atom. For...

The Earth’s atmosphere is a layer of gases held close to its surface by gravity. It plays a crucial role in supporting plant and animal life,...

Lightning is a large-scale natural spark discharge that occurs within the atmosphere or between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface. On discharge, a highly electrically conductive...

Professor Craig Rodger became involved with the idea of locating lightning strikes when he was a student in the Space Physics group operating out of the...

We live in a gaseous atmosphere and are influenced by its composition, behaviour and structure. Use is made of gas properties in our everyday lives –...

We live in a gaseous atmosphere surrounded by plasma with plasma the fourth and most abundant state of matter. This resource provides explanations of the key...

The YikeBike is a light, foldable, easily portable, electric bicycle. It is a radical redesign of the traditional bicycle. Christchurch inventor and entrepreneur Grant Ryan developed...

Alan Graham MacDiarmid was born in Masterton, New Zealand, in 1927. His interest in chemistry began as a boy when he found one of his father’s...