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Electric vocabulary - James Sheils

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TEDEd Animation

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We all know the words around electricity -- “charge,” “positive,” “battery” and more. But where do they come from and what do they really mean? Let the history of these words illuminate the physics of electric phenomena.

Jean-Antoine Nollett was a French physicist who worked at the same time as Benjamin Franklin. He thought that Franklin's theory was not scientific because he only described what was happening, and did not explain it. What do you think decides whether a theory is scientific or non-scientific? Discuss.

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Meet The Creators

  • Director Biljana Labović
  • Animator Celeste Lai
  • Educator James Sheils
  • Narrator James Sheils

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