There are a lot of things that I don't understand, but like most everyone these days I will just go along with my every day life relatively ungrateful for these little luxuries until I really stop to think about it. But I think one that has crossed my mind fairly often is...
How. Electricity. Works.
Whenever someone asks me this question, my response is always "You turn a light switch from the off position to the on position, usually in an upwards motion." Then ta-da! You can see in an otherwise dark room.
When I was younger I absolutely loved physics, but I think more than the concepts themselves I was drawn into it because it is a science that can be proved with math, not trusting that those little electrons and protons that you can't see are truly moving around and can predictably bond themselves into patterns ("obviously this will work because there is a double-bond between this molecule and this molecule, making it stick together FOREVER"...what??). Therefore, chemistry wasn't my forte. At all. And yeah, physics deals with a lot of those little guys, but it's moreso just using them as constants or accepted principles than actually analyzing them.
I've been told over and over again how a light switch, blender, air conditioner, and dust buster works, but alas, it is a concept I cannot grasp.
So, thank you all you national grid/niagara mohawk people for figuring everything out for me, I really appreciate everything except your monthly bills.
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