To understand electronics, we first need to understand what electricity is and how it is produced. Electricity is a kind of energy stored inside atoms, the tiny building blocks of which all things are made. This energy can be made to flow through some kinds of materials, especially metals. We call this current electricity. It is easy to use current electricity because it can be sent along wires to wherever it is needed.

A washing machine uses an electric current to heat the water and run its motor (which rotates the drum). The settings for a wash cycle—the temperature, length of spin and so on—rely on electronics. When you enter the settings you want via a control panel, electronic components will control the electric current to carry out your wishes.

Electrons

Electronics is the study of how electrons can be controlled so that they can do useful jobs. Electrons are tiny particles that form part of atoms. Everything is made of billions of atoms, including all living things—such as your own body—and even the air you breathe.
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An atom is like an extremely tiny ball. It is so tiny, that even the full stop at the end of this sentence has a width of around 20 million atoms. Inside an atom there is mostly empty space. At the centre of it lies its nucleus. This is made up of even smaller particles, called protons and neutrons, clustered together. Whizzing around the nucleus are more tiny particles: electrons.

Electric current

Every kind of material is made of atoms, so they all contain electrons. In some materials, such as wood or plastic, electrons do not move easily at all. But in metals like copper or silver, their atoms' outer electrons are able to move freely about. If we can make the electrons move through something made of metal, then we can create an electric current.
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​​​​​​​A battery always has two terminals: a positive one and a negative one. When you connect a battery to a light bulb, you create a circuit, the pathway that allows an electric currents to flow from the positive terminal to the negative one.

​​​​​​​Current electricity always needs a circuit to work. Disconnect a wire from the circuit and the electric current stops. Flipping a switch off is the same as disconnecting a wire.