How to explain electron to a five years old?

2023 Jan 14

An electron is a tiny part of an atom that helps make up everything around us. Think of it like a tiny ball that is always moving around the nucleus, which is the center of the atom. Electrons are so small that we can’t see them, but they help make electricity and power things like lights and computers.

Electrons can also move from one atom to another, which is how electricity flows through wires. When electrons move, they make a current, like a little river of electricity flowing through the wires. Without electrons, we wouldn’t have any electricity and all the things that use electricity, like cars and toys, wouldn’t work. And that’s how electron works! It’s a tiny little ball that helps make things happen.

Another way to think about electrons is that they have a negative charge. This means that they have the opposite charge of other tiny particles called protons, which have a positive charge. Electrons and protons are always attracted to each other, and that’s what holds atoms together and creates matter. The number of electrons in an atom is always the same as the number of protons, which means that atoms are neutral overall, they don’t have a positive or negative charge.

And that’s the basic idea of electrons! They are tiny, negatively charged particles that move around the nucleus of atoms and help make up everything around us.