Zap! Play it Safe Around Electricity!

PLAY IT SAFE AROUND

KEEP THE BEAT PAGE 3

EXPLORE… Fantastic Facts, Experiments, Puzzles & MORE!

POWERING THE CIRCUS PAGE 4

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING PAGE 14

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME PAGE 7

KIDS???

INSIDE

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Keep the Beat! Keep the Beat! Why do doctors use electricity to shock their patients? Electrical Safety at the Circus This traveling circus is like a small city, transporting its own electrical generation and distribution system. SayWhat?! Fantastic facts and activities about electricity. Includes: Don’t Try This at Home! Electric Fish Tales Why don’t electric fish shock themselves? Lighting Undersea Treasure Hunts Finding sunken treasure takes a lot of electric power, but electricity and water don’t mix. What’s the secret? Shock Patrol Ace detective’s shocking find—overloaded outlets in kids’ rooms! Plus indoor safety audit. Find the Hidden Hazards Can you spot the hidden outdoor electrical hazards and stay safe? Lightning & Storm Safety These kids were struck by lightning! Learn how you can stay safe in a lightning storm. Learn how Ben Franklin sure didn’t play it safe! Poster Contest Create a poster about an important electrical safety message.

I’m Eelena. I’m an electric eel. Welcome to the premier issue of Zap!

This issue covers the electric distribu tion system, how electricity behaves, and how to be safe around electricity both indoors and outdoors. We hope you’ll share what you learn with your family and friends to help keep them safe, too.

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Editor Carol “ Better Safe Than Sorry ” Ewart Managing Editor Wendy “ What If? ” Ellyn Art Director Ken “ Grounded Outlet ” Feisel Designer Alex “ Double Insulated ” French

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Keep the Beat! Keep the Beat! Electric shock can seriously injure or kill, but sometimes it can actually save a life B y A ndrew H idas e e

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ou’ve seen the scene on TV or in the movies. Doctors and nurses in an emergency room crowd around a patient whose heart has stopped. One doctor picks up a metal paddle in each hand and yells: “Clear!” Everybody steps back. The doctor places the two paddles against the patient’s bare chest and zaps him with an electrical charge. If the shock restarts the patient’s heart, the camera usually shows a TV monitor with a bright line like a row of mountain peaks. Each peak represents a heartbeat. How can an electrical shock help save a life? Your heart is an amazing muscle. All day, every day, while you’re brushing your teeth or riding your bike, billions of tiny cells in your heart work together to pump blood and oxygen through your body. Inside each heart cell, tiny electrical currents fire in rhythm with the other heart cells. Sometimes, heart cells can’t work together because of disease or injury. Clumps of heart cells try to make the heart pump at different speeds. Overwhelmed with different rhythms, the heart suffers an attack. It stops pumping blood. Death can occur within minutes unless the doctors restart the heart by shocking it with the paddles. They are part of a machine called a defibrillator (de-’fi-br -la-t r).

The defibrillator “shocks” every cell in the heart at the same time, so they all start up again in rhythm. It’s like

The electricity in a defibrillator is

carefully measured to help people. But if you contact the electricity in an

each cell is danc ing to the same beat! So why does the doctor shout “clear” before shocking the patient? Anyone who is touching the patient or the bed would become part of electrici ty’s path. They would be shocked too. Most of the time, the shock would hurt, but it wouldn’t cause injury because the defibrillator’s charge is small. Sometimes, though, the shock might make a nor mal heart beat irregularly, and that could be dan gerous. n Think About It! What are 10 ways electricity helps you in your life? appliance, electrical cord, or power line, you will be seriously injured or killed.

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© 2022 Culver Media, LLC 800-428-5837 Product #35810 Run #5096 September 2016 Printed by Quad/Graphics, Waseca, MN

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Electrical Safety at the

B y J anet C astellini &M iranda A brahams

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high on power poles or buried under ground to protect people from being shocked. The circus has a different system for getting its electricity. The circus has to move to a new town three times a week, so it brings its own generating plant along. Two diesel-powered gen erators, each small enough to fit in the back of a pick-up truck, make enough electricity to supply light and energy for the entire circus.

here can you see lions and tigers, acrobats, and clowns? At the circus, of

At the circus and in your home, “insula

tors,” like special rub ber and plastic, keep electricity from leaving the wires it travels on. An insulator is some thing electricity can’t travel through easily.

course! And while you are enjoying the performance, behind the scenes are other feats that are just as amazing. We visited the Clyde Beatty Cole Brothers Circus and learned it is like a small portable city of about 275 people that travels to 125 towns every year! Permanent cities get their electricity

To distribute electricity around the circus, power lines must be set up carefully from the generator. Circus power lines are kept a safe distance away from people in very creative ways. The cables out to the mid way do run overhead, just

from big generating plants. A distribution system of power lines carries the electricity from the power plant to homes, schools, and businesses. Power lines are

like power lines on poles in a regular neighborhood. But in some places, the only choice is to put specially insulated cables right on the ground. For example, the main elec tric cable from the generator to the Big Top is about as big around as a man’s arm, so it is on the ground. To make sure no electricity leaks out, these power lines are double insulated. They have a special rubber jacket

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In this picture, electricity travels on power lines from a generating plant to a substation where the voltage (the force of electricity) is decreased. Then it goes to homes and schools where we use it for lights, appliances, motors, and equipment. What Do You Know About Power Line Safety?

Transmission Lines

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next to the metal cables, nylon webbing around that jacket for strength, and another layer of hard rubber insulation around the outside. That hard outer layer of insulation resists oil, water, and fire, so it’s safe to use outside. In places like the “backyard” of the Big Top, where performers enter and exit, huge rubber safety mats are placed over the cables that lie on top of the ground.

Generating Plant

Distribution Lines

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Transformer

Substation

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Service Drop

Home

Those mats can take a lot of traffic, even elephants, horses, and cars full of clowns! n

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Pad Mounted Transformer

School

Think About It! Howis the electrical distribution systeminyour neighborhood like the systemat the circus? Howis it different?

For each of the numbered locations, describe a dangerous behavior and at least one way to stay safe. Write your ideas below.

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Circus power lines are insulated for safety, but those in your neighborhood are not.

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n If you see a downed power line, stay far away and tell an adult immediately. Even if they are not sparking or humming, downed lines can shock you and can energize the ground nearby. n Never throw things at or shoot at insulators on power poles. They keep electricity from traveling down the pole.

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Electricity’s charged with fascinating factoids! Check these out…

How Small Can You Get? Electricity is made of electrons—particles of energy one million MILLIONTH the size of a speck of dust! If an electron grew as big as a speck of dust, and you grew at the same rate, you’d be so big that when you stood on Earth, you’d bump your head on Jupiter!

Dig It Right!

If people dig ; buried electric lines, they can be seriously shocked. Anyone planning a digging project (even just to plant a tree) should call 811 several days before digging. This service will make sure underground electric lines and other utilities are clearly marked so people can dig a safe dis tance away.

That’s Shocking! Shuffle across a carpet on a dry day, and your shoes pick up extra electrons. Touch a doorknob, and the “static” electricity (the extra electrons that are “static” or not moving) suddenly leap to the doorknob, so they can get to the ground. You feel a shock! This same principle makes lightning, a buildup of elec trons suddenly leaps from the clouds to the ground.

SmartGuy Thomas Edison While inventing the first practical light bulb, Thomas Edison filled 200 notebooks with 40,000 handwritten pages! “Genius,” he said, “is 1% inspi ration and 99 % perspiration”— plain old hard work!

At the Speed of Light When you turn on a

lig ht, you’re drawing electricity all the way from a power plant to your light bulb. That power plant may be sev eral hundred miles away. It’s a good thing electricity can travel 186,000 miles per second!

—AlanDrummer

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DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

I n The IronGiant cartoon movie, young Hogarth Hughes discovers a 100-foot tall robot just as the hungry giant crashes through the fence of an electric substation and begins to munch everything in sight. Hogarth watches in awe as the giant gets tangled in live power lines. Electrical shocks as powerful as lightning bolts make the robot helpless. The boy runs into the substation to help. All around him the destroyed equipment and the robot are charged with electricity. Looking around, Hogarth spies a large switch marked “on” and “off.” He pulls the switch, shut ting down the power, and winning the giant as his grateful friend. Don’t try this at home! IfHogarthhad pulled this stunt in a real substation, he wouldhave been seriously injured or killed. Substations are packed with complicated equip ment that carries high-voltage electricity. There are no simple switches that say “on” and “off.” Only specially trained electric utility employees can enter safely. Anyone inside the substation is in danger of being electrocuted. — SteveNazigian Circle the words hidden in this puzzle that are related to the electricity distribution system you learned about on page 5. Words may be written horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Word Search HIDDEN WORDS distribution electricity generating plant home school service drop substation transformer transmission

“IRON GIANT ©1999 Warner Bros., a division of Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P. All Rights Reserved.”

If you see anyone being shocked by electricity, quickly call 911 for help. Do not go near the person. If you touch someone who is touching electricity, you will be shocked too.

G U P O T C O K E D N A L G N E E L E C T R I C I T Y I R O N D N E E X P G G C A H N D N E C S E R V I C E D R O P I A G A C U R I L S W H I M H S N N E H S B A T C W S A E F T E E S O T I S T D S G R Y O R M N W O O L L T I S R D O E I H F R L N C E M A N A I R L B F S D U E T S E F T G L O T U R H S O N N P O L E I P X N T H T P I A A T E S D T O L F I T I I R E N A I R D N A N A O A E T R A N S F O R M E R T N O M S O S U B M E R S I B L E T

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i, I’m Joe Mortenson. I’m a marine biologist. I H B y G eorge S nyder study creatures that live in water. I’m really fascinated by electric fish. Fish really can make

Scientists are most interested in electric eels, because they make the most electricity. Electric eels can cause a shock of up to 600 volts of electricity. This is powerful stuff—as much as five times the

voltage that’s in a wall outlet. It’s enough to kill you or me. Electric eels use

Electricity travels very easily through water. That’s why it’s such an effective tool for elec tric fish. The human body is about 60 per cent water. That’s why your body can conduct electricity!

electricity. Even you and I make small electrical charges. Our bodies make electricity to help our hearts beat and make our muscles move, but some critters can generate enough electricity to knock down a horse! Electric rays belong to a family of fish called Torpedinidae. That’s where we get the word torpedo. In Latin, Torpedinidae means “fish” and “numb.” If this fish hits you, you will be numb. It would feel as if you touched an exposed light socket, and it can be just as dangerous. Not all electric fish have such a powerful shock. Some use a weak electric signal to communicate with one another, to find prey, or to find their way around. If you touched these fish, you would barely feel the charge.

their electric charge for defense or to stun or kill prey. Water is a very good conductor of electricity, so when the electric fish gives off a shock, the water car

ries the shock to any fish swim ming nearby, making them easy pickings for the eel. After giving off one electric discharge, electric fish must rest to recharge their “batteries.” And that’s a good way to think of these creatures. Electric fish really are like living batteries. Just like in a battery, chemicals inside the eel react with each other to make electricity. Nearly all of an elec tric eel’s long round

body is taken up by its electric organs. That’s the part of its body that makes the electricity. The electric organs

Photo byKen Lucas/Courtesy of the Steinhart Aquarium, San Francisco, CA

Electric Eel

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Will the Bulb Light?

contain 5,000 to 6,000 little parts called electro plaques. Each electroplaque produces only a small amount of electricity, but when all the charges are added together, they pack quite a wallop!

I’d bet you’re wondering if electric fish ever shock

themselves. They do, but their bodies aren’t affected by it. That’s something scientists like me want to learn more about. n Think About It! OneDbattery is about 2volts. How manyD batteries would it take to equal the shock froman electric eel?

1. Set up the equipment as shown, using a 1.2-volt light bulb and matching base, and fill the beaker with distilled water. Does the bulb light? 2. Add salt, one-quarter teaspoonful at a time, to the water. How much salt does it take to make something happen? 3. Pour the water out and repeat the experiment several more times. In place of the salt use other particles such as dirt, bread crumbs, blackboard chalk, etc. Each time you try a new substance, start over with fresh water observations and note how much of each substance it takes to get a result. Use your observations to formulate a hypothesis about what is needed for the bulb to light. SAFETY TIP: E lectricity from outlets has more than 80 times the voltage of your D battery, and will travel through water whether or not it has impurities in it. Never experiment with electricity from outlets! and wipe off the nails and exposed copper wires. 4. Create a data table where you can record your

Electric eels like me can be up to 8 feet long and weigh 100 pounds!

You don’t have the same protection as an electric fish, so if you contact elec tricity, you will be hurt or killed. n Make sure your hands are dry before you touch anything electrical, even if you think it’s turned off. n Unplug electric appliances before cleaning them. n Keep electric cords and electric appliances away from water.

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Diesel generators on the treasure-hunting ships pro vide the electricity. To protect divers, all the electrical current is wired through a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) panel at the generator. A GFCI immediately stops the flow of electricity through the cable if there is any problem. This is similar to the wiring in newer homes, where electricity to outlets near kitchen and bathroom sinks, in basements, and

outdoors is wired through GFCIs to protect people from serious shock. From the onboard generators, special cables carry the elec tricity down through the water to the div ers’ equipment. Each cable is insulated

A circuit is the path electricity travels. On treasure hunts or in your kitchen, if the GFCI senses that electricity is leaving the circuit, it quickly cuts power to prevent serious injury.

F

Photo Courtesy of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology/Don A. Frey

or 300 years after Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, traders sailed ships across the oceans to bring gold, silver, jewels, and spices back to Europe. Some of these ships went down in storms or were attacked by pirates, and

by a plastic shield, and inside is a bundle of indi vidually insulated wires. There can be no air inside the cable. This is important because air expands and contracts with the pressure changes of differ ent ocean depths. Expanding air could crack the insulation, which would allow water to leak in and electricity to leak out. If that happened, electricity would shock the divers, fish, and any other living thing nearby.

now lie at the bottom of the dark ocean. To explore these ships and recover their treasures, divers need lights, cameras, and special equipment that all run on electricity. Since water is such a good conductor of electricity, treasure hunt ers must take special precautions to use electricity safely. Here’s how they do it…

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Electricity’s effects depend on the pressure (measured in voltage, or volts), the current (measured in amperage, or amps), and the duration of the contact. High-voltage electricity from power lines can burn you from the inside out. It can also blast you clear of the circuit, but the shock or fall can be fatal. Low-voltage electricity (such as that found in your home and shown in the chart below) can cause muscle spasms that lock you to the circuit. It can also interfere with your heartbeat, even if the amperage is very small. Just a Little Current Can Kill You

B y J onathan M armelzat

At the dive site, high-powered lights are insu lated from the water in special cases filled with a compressed gas. The gas keeps the pressure from building up inside the light and causing a leak. Handheld lights and cameras are often powered by battery packs strapped to the divers’ air tanks. Divers always wear special rubber gloves when handling electrical equipment. Even with all these precautions in place, before each dive treasure hunters check their equipment carefully for signs of wear or damage. When they see sunken treasure gleaming in the light of their electric lamps, they know all their electrical safe ty efforts have been worth it! n Think About It! What are three ways treasure hunters protect themselves from electric shock when underwater?

Trip setting for GFCI shock protection

7.5-watt holiday light

12-watt electric shaver

1000-watt hair dryer

1. What would happen to someone who contacted 1 milliamp of electricity?

2. What would happen to someone who contacted 1 amp? (Clue: 1 milliamp is 1/1000th of an amp.)

n If you see someone using electricity near water, remind them to plug their appliance or equipment into a GFCI-protected outlet. n Does your home have GFCIs? If not, tell your parents portable GFCIs are available.

3. Why do you think GFCIs are set to trip (stop the flow of electricity) at 5 milliamps?

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Is Your Home Sa f e? Y ur H a e o S e T his simple inspection inside your home will help k ep you and your family safe. Do the inspection with an adult. If you find any hazards, check “Needs Fixing” and then ask an adult to have them fixed.

NEEDS FIXING

LOOK FOR

OK

1. Overloaded outlets 2. Electric appliance cords that are worn or frayed 3. Electric cords running under rugs or furniture legs 4. Appliances used near water without GFCI protection 5. Power tools used in wet or damp areas 6. Electric heaters close to anything that can burn 7. Circuit breakers that trip (or fuses that blow) often

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11:15 AM: Called to the home of Thomas McNeely, age 11, to investigate an Overloaded Electrical Outlet. I discovered a horrible spectacle—a television, VCR, video game player, portable electric heater, hair dryer, lamp,

2:12 PM: Spot check on Eliza Goodwin, age 13, picked up three years ago for the same offense. She’d overloaded one outlet with a computer, printer, hair dryer, stereo, television, and curling iron. This time, we found her outlets safe and under control. If Eliza can learn to be safe, so can you. —Toby Snyder

clock radio, stereo system, and more, all plugged into the same outlet. When will people learn? “Do you know why we’re here?” I asked. “I have no idea,” he replied. Obviously, he hadn’t gotten the message. “Look at these wires! Look at this mess! Do you think this is safe?” “I, uh, maybe.” He was starting to crack. “Overloading an outlet can cause a fire. You could burn down your entire house!” I could see that I was getting to him. “Untangle these wires and make use of the other outlets in your room or call an electrician for help.”

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There are eight hazardous electrical situations in this neighborhood. How many can you find? Compare your answers with a classmate or friend and work together to find them all. Find the Hidden Hazards

SCORING 6–8 Congratulations! You have

good outdoor electrical safety sense. 3–5 You can learn to be safer! Reread the safety tips in this magazine to give you some ideas. 0–2 Be careful! Please learn more about outdoor electrical safety so

you can help keep yourself, your family, and your friends safe.

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I Felt Like I Was on Fire! Nathan from Collinsville, Illinois

I t was storming really bad, and my mom called and said to go to the basement because of the storm. I went to the garage first to get my cats, and the door blew open. When I reached to shut it, I heard a loud bang like a

loud firecracker. My hand was stuck to the doorknob. I saw a zigzag blue streak of lightning go up my right

A typical lightning bolt carries 30 million volts of electricity—as much as 2.5 million car batteries. Lightning is attracted to metal, water, and tall objects, including trees, buildings, and people. About 100 people are killed and more than 1,000 people are injured by lightning in the U.S. each year.

arm and across my chest. It went out my left shoulder. The force knocked me down, and I could see static electricity fly across the garage. It hurt so bad, like I was on fire. I went in and told my

brother to call 911, because I had been struck by lightning. He thought I was

Plan ahead so you don’t get caught outside during a storm. If you see lightning or hear thunder, go indoors immediately. Lightning

joking until I took my shirt off and he saw that I was burned. An ambulance took me to the hospital. For a long time afterwards, I had pain and numbness in my shoulders, and the static elec tric charge in my body made computers, moni tors, and printers mess up when I was around. I still have memory problems and sometimes can feel a storm approaching. Think About It! How is lightning similar to the electricity from power lines? How is it different?

can travel through wiring and water pipes, so stay away from bathtubs, sinks, phones, and anything that uses electricity, like TVs, computers, or video games. IF YOU CAN’T GET INDOORS: n GET into a hardtop car—not a convertible. n STAY away from trees, tall objects, and anything metal. n STAY away from rivers, lakes, and swimming pools. n IF you are caught in the open, drop to your knees and bend forward, putting your hands on your knees. Do not lie down or put your hands on the ground.

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Lucky Ben Franklin enjamin Franklin experimented with electricity long before its dangers were well understood. In June 1752, he flew a kite in a thunderstorm to discover whether lightning was a form of electricity. He wanted to conduct electricity from storm clouds down the kite string into a metal key that he had tied to the string. Sure enough, the key eventually gave off an electric spark. Lucky for Franklin, his kite was just drawing static electrical charges from the air. If the kite had been struck by lighting, Franklin would have been killed! B

Lightning Changed My Son’s Life Forever Richard from Lansing, Michigan

M y son John was 17 years old and just a year away from high school graduation when he was struck by lightning. John and three friends were on the golf course when a storm came up. They took cover under a wooden shelter until the rain stopped and then started walking back to the clubhouse. John was the tallest, and he was carrying his golf clubs. The lightning struck him and trav eled through his body into the ground. His three friends were knocked unconscious, but John was injured the most.

Since the acci dent, John can’t speak, walk, or write. He can laugh

and cry, make sounds, read, hear, and understand things, but he cannot talk or move by himself. John wants you to know that if you see a storm coming or hear thunder, you should get inside. Even if you really want to stay on the ball field or golf course, leave! John is proof that lightning can strike you.

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Electrical Safety Poster Contest ter

T ake what you’ve learned from this booklet and create a colorful poster that will help your friends and family stay safe around electricity. Post it in your house, at school, or around your neighborhood. Here are some important outdoor electrical safety messages to help you get started: n Stay away from substations.

n Don’t climb trees near power lines. n Stay away from fallen power lines. n Fly kites far away from power lines. n Don’t climb power poles. n Don’t play near transformers. n Call 811 before digging.

Karina, 10, Sebastopol, CA

Ben, 10, Columbus, OH

Jennifer, 13, Columbia, WA

Make this a part of

your class room

See your teacher about having a poster contest!

Billy, 11, Baltimore, MD