We use electricity everyday in our homes. Devices plugged into the wall are powered by AC electricity. Handheld devices like our smart phones are powered by DC electricity. Electricity for our devices comes from outlets in our walls and from batteries but how does that work? How does electricity get from one point to another? To explain how electricity works, Karen starts with the most basic parts. Everything, all matter, is made up of atoms. Atoms are made up of particles consisting of protons and neutrons in the core, surrounded by electrons. In an atom, protons are positively charged, while electronics are equally negatively charged. Atoms normally contain the same number of protons and electrons. If this is the case, these atoms are electrically neutral, having no charge. However, this can be changed. An atom can gain or lose an electron by passing it to or from another atom. This causes an atom to become an ion, meaning it has extra or is missing electrons. If an ion has extra electrons it is negatively charged, while an ion with missing electrons is positively charged. Charged ions exert force on each other.