Everything is made of atoms
原子構成世間萬物
To understand electricity, it’s important to know something about atoms. Atoms are the building blocks of the universe. Everything in the universe is made of atoms-every star, every tree, every animal. The human body is made of atoms. Air and water are made of atoms too. Atoms are so small that millions of them would fit on the head of a pin.
要了解電，重要的是對原子有所了解。原子是構成宇宙的基本要素。原子構成了宇宙中的一切：星星、樹木、動物。人體也由原子構成。空氣、水也是如此。原子極其微小，數以百萬的原子才相當于 大頭針的針尖大小。
Atoms are made of even smaller particles
原子由更小的粒子構成
The center of an atom is called the nucleus. It is made of particles called protons and neutrons. Electrons spin around the nucleus in shells a great distance from the nucleus. If the nucleus was the size of a tennis ball, the atom would be the size of a sphere about 1,450 feet in diameter, or about the size of the largest sports stadium in the world. Atoms are mostly empty space.
原子的中心稱為原子核，原子核由質子和中子兩種粒子構成。電子在電子層 中繞核運動，與原子核距離較遠。如果原子核為網球大小，那么原子就是一個的 直徑約為1450英尺的球體，或相當于世界上最大的體育場。原子中有較大空間。
If an atom could be seen with the naked eye, it would look a little like a tiny center of balls surrounded by giant invisible bubbles (or shells). The electrons would be on the surface of the bubbles, constantly spinning and moving to stay as far away from each other as possible. Electrons are held in their shells by an electrical force.
如果肉眼可見的話，原子就好像處于一個球堆的中心，被許多隱形的巨大泡 泡（或球形殼）環繞著。電子在泡泡的表面（即電子層上）不斷（繞核）旋轉且 彼此相斥。在電場力的作用下，電子處于（相應的）電子層中。（或意譯為電子不 會脫離電子層。）The protons and electrons of an atom are attracted to each other. They both carry an electrical charge. Protons have a positive charge (+) and electrons have a negative charge (-). The positive charge of the protons is equal to the negative charge of the electrons. Opposite charges attract each other. An atom is in balance when it has an equal number of protons and electrons. The neutrons carry no charge and their number can vary.
原子中的質子和電子相互吸引，他們各自帶有電荷。質子帶正電荷，電子帶 負電荷。質子所帶的正電荷與電子所帶負電荷數量相等。異性/正負電荷相互吸引。 當質子和電子數量相當時，原子處于平衡狀態。中子不帶電荷，中子數量可（隨 原子種類的不同而）變化。
The number of protons in an atom determines the kind of atom, or element, it is. An element is a substance consisting of one type of atom (the Periodic Table shows all the known elements), all with the same number of protons. Every atom of hydrogen, for example, has one proton, and every atom of carbon has six protons. The number of protons determines which element it is.
原子的質子數決定了原子的種類，即元素。一種元素就是一類具有相同質子數的原子（元素周期表顯示了所有已知元素）。例如，每種氫元素都有一個質子，每種碳元素都有6個質子。質子數量決定元素種類。
Electricity is the movement of electrons between atoms電子在原子間運動產生電
Electrons usually remain a constant distance from the nucleus in precise shells. The shell closest to the nucleus can hold two electrons. The next shell can hold up to eight. The outer shells can hold even more. Some atoms with many protons can have as many as seven shells with electrons in them.
通常情況下，電子存在于確定的球形殼內，與原子核保持固定的距離。離原子核最近的球形殼內有2個電子，次近的球形殼里有8個電子。外部的球形殼中的電子數更多。有些原子的質子數比較多，其承載電子的球形殼可多達7個。
The electrons in the shells closest to the nucleus have a strong force of attraction to the protons. Sometimes, the electrons in an atom’s outermost shells do not. These electrons can be pushed out of their orbits. Applying a force can make them move from one atom to another. These moving electrons are electricity.
離原子核最近的電子與質子的引力最強。最外層電子層的電子與質子的引力就沒那么強，它們有時會脫離軌道。施加外力可以使電子從一個原子移向另一個原子。電子的運動就產生了電。
Static electricity exists in nature
自然界中存在靜電
Lightning is a form of electricity. Lightning is electrons moving from one cloud to another or electrons jumping from a cloud to the ground. Have you ever felt a shock when you touched an object after walking across a carpet? A stream of electrons jumped to you from that object. This is called static electricity.
閃電就是電的一種。電子從一片云層移向另一片云層，或是從一片云層移向大地，從而形成了閃電。走過地毯再接觸物體的時候，你有沒有被電到過呢？那是因為有電子從物體上跳到了你身上。這種現象叫作靜電。
Have you ever made your hair stand straight up by rubbing a balloon on it? If so, you rubbed some electrons off the balloon. The electrons moved into your hair from the balloon. The electrons tried to get far away from each other by moving to the ends of your hair. They pushed against or repelled each other and made your hair move. Just as opposite charges attract each other, like charges repel each other.
你有試過用氣球摩擦頭發，頭發就豎了起來嗎？這樣做就是把氣球上的電子蹭到了頭發上。電子試圖遠離彼此，因而移動到了發梢。它們相互排斥彼此遠離，使得頭發直立起來。就像異性電荷相互吸引，同性電荷相互排斥。
