Valence Electrons

Food, fuel, chemical reactions, its electron exchanges between atomic valence shells making it happen! 

Nucleophilic or Electrophilic, in molecules the electron distribution usually contains a dipole moment such that a part of the molecule has a net positive charge while the other part has a negative charge, sorta like a magnet has a north & south pole. So molecules are like little atomic molecular magnetics, that attract & this attraction is what causes super glue to polymerize & fuels biochemistry with enzymes facilitating a lower energy of activation to trigger chemical reactions in the human body at just above room temperatures in warm flesh cells! 

Most chemical reactions taking place between reactants to produce products are strongly influenced by electrons exchanged between the valence or outmost electron orbital shell fields of the constituent atoms.

Chemical bonds are formed by atoms sharing electrons. The conductance band being near the valence shell makes some metals like copper & aluminum very electrically conductive. The band gap between the conductance band & valence shell is what gives semiconductors made of PN junctions their ability to pass or block the flow of electrical current, with significant applications in diodes, integrated circuits made of millions of billions of transistors, in CMOS imaging sensors, solar PV modules & many other energy information technologies across a broad range of sectors worldwide. 

Without electricity modern society would grind to a halt. Banks, stock markets, hospitals, manufacturing, EV charging, servers, refrigeration, lighting, lamps, bulbs, appliances, electrical heaters, water heaters, computers, cell phone & wearable charging and many other domains of society are unable to work, so your credit & debit cards do not work, society as you know it cannot function without electrical power from grid power systems energizing human activity in nearly every domain of life. 

Not all energy systems are electrical. Combustion of wood, coal, natural gas & other carbon & hydrocarbon fuels can produce heat energy, making steam thereby can power steam engines. Consider the Middle Ages or 18th century when electricity was just a novelty & human activity worldwide went on without information technology, nothing electrical per-se except science demo's & rich men's toys. So yes, it is possible for billions of human to grow food, move food, eat & survive without electricity, but to thrive we need persistent electricity. The negative aspects of grid power brownouts & blackouts illustrate the value of electrical power to advanced societal functionality. This makes electricity the most valuable, if also the hardest to store, form of energy. 

I will argue that electricity itself is not energy, but that the electrons carry energy imparted into them by outside forces, magnetic fields in commercial power generators for example, or in your automobile engines alternator or electric motor controller battery system. Hydrogen similarly not a form of energy, but an energy carrier. Remember that energy is never created or destroyed, energy only changes form. In computer systems electrical energy converted mostly into waste heat, but also the switching of energetically encoded information bit streams & solid state drives & HDD read write IOPS information handling, information processing, information storage, and other information systems. Think cloud computer, the internet & worldwide web and all connected computer systems or disconnected compute devices in every area of society which can be destroyed by an EMP or solar flare CME coronal mass ejection, or worldwide electrical storm.

Everything is energy, even matter itself a form of energy. Energy has a spectrum of energy levels, so some energy is low energy while other energy is high energy, consider the difference between infrared photons & gamma ray photons, the former lower red heat energy while the other high frequency penetrating ionizing radiation. Both are photons which are related to electrons. In fact in most logic the holes in one material attract free electrons from the other material when the material interface energized with more than 0.7vdc. This kind of transistor switching of semiconductors is what enabled modern technology to flourish with internet & digital information systems of all kinds that transformed the global economy & many nations with advanced technologies applied. 

Everything we know of is made of atoms, the atoms made of subatomic particles, the subatomic particles made of something. So chemistry, the way chemical elements interact, and physics, the way energy moves between substances & materials, the two key areas in science that can improve all aspects of society. We can make everything in life better by improving the diffusion & application of science across all domains of human activity. Especially noteworthy that energy itself is wealth & the ability to make & control energy creates prosperity & economic activity via energy inputs. 

That's why the thermal energy from high quality firm chemical reactions between oxygen in the air and common hydrocarbon fuels like gasoline & diesel were able to energize transportation via ICE or internal combustion engines that translate chemical combustion energy heat & pressure to push pistons down to turn a crank just like legs turn the pedals on a bicycle, and through mechanical gearing to turn the wheels to propel the vehicle. Widely proven, gasoline & diesel engines are empowering most vehicles around the world. While its also true that electric vehicles powered by batteries pumping DC current into a variable frequency AC controller & a few different types of electric motors that convert the current flow induced magnetic fields into mechanical rotational force to propel EV's forward, while also allowing the electric motor to act as a generator for regeneration braking or e-brake single pedal operation in common EV's like a Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt or Tesla Model S,3,X,Y, or many other BEV's or battery electric vehicles. 

Understanding the electronic properties of materials can enable ongoing optimization of electric motor controllers, enabling better higher efficiency EV's with improved performance & longer range. We can improve manufacturing of all goods, including plant growth & soil preservation in agriculture, pest management, literally everything including the solution to all human diseases can be obtained through the application of understanding or science of material electronic properties, in biomolecules & DNA & epigenetic control mechanisms of the human body for example, or the electrochemical activity of thought, the mind & thinking in the human brain, or muscle control of the body movement by the brain, balance & coordination to enable activity, work, exercise, recreation, crafting, fixing, repairing, making & more! All human activities is energized by calorie energy from plants grown in soil with solar power & water & dirt using DNA information stored in seeds or via cloning of plant tissues, GMO or otherwise. While people can fast or go without food for up to 40 days, people also have to eat to live, to grow, to develop, to have energy to think & move. 

Without food, people cannot live, but 3 meals per day was a lie too. Understanding human metabolism, diet, nutrition & other aspects of health & wellness are relatively new concepts that emerged from ideas about food webs, ecology, environmental health, and why its super important to clean up all human activity to reduced pollution that harms public health & makes climate change worse faster & bad for nature, harming animals & ecosystems. 

Pollution is evil & sick because it's based on ignorant greed perpetuated through corruption between governments & powerful global corporations, but it's ultimately some people placing profits above other people that causes pollution. Pollutants are toxic chemicals released from industrial & commercial activities that harm human health by damaging cells, organs, by blocking enzyme function, by causing toxic effects on the human body. 

The problem is that most industrialization started long before humans had diffused knowledge about toxicology, ecology or biology or medicine & how pollutants negatively harm health; to understand what makes something toxic, sometimes just the dose makes the difference between a medicine & a poison. You can drink a few liquid ounces of water at once & be fine, but if you drink 5 gallons at once, that would dilute your bodies electrolytes & cause water toxicity. This is what I mean by the dose. A small serving of food generally well tolerated, while overly large servings can cause metabolic problems, poor digestion, feeling tired or the "ieitis" after a heavy meal, sedation & calming from the radically elevated blood glucose levels.