system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How does electrcity actually power things? like is just the flow of electrons or is there more to it?
gpt
Well yes, the flow of electrons bumping into each other is the "power" part.  Somethings have actual flow while others just shake them back and forth.  But essentially it's the same thing as a lightning bolt. 

Turning that flow into something useful happens in a variety of ways.  Heater are just big resistors. The friction to the flow makes heat.   Some filaments when electrified give of photons, otherwise know as lightbulbs.  If you coil a wire, the flow makes a magnetic field, which will push a metal slug. Radio emitters literally force the energy to jump out into the air. Flowing electrons through transistors can do all sorts of stuff.