Professional Documents
Culture Documents
By Raymond F. Yates
A BOY AND A MOTOR
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A BOY AND A MOTOR
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A BOY AND A MOTOR
To
SUZANNE STAHLER
good little friend, good little neighbor
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CONTENTS
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ILLUSTRATIONS
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Fig. 14. The Simple Simon motor; great for high speed but not much
for power.............................................................................................36
Fig. 15. The construction details for the Simple Simon motor...........37
Fig. 16. The extreme simplicity of the “whirling cork” motor is shown
here......................................................................................................40
Fig. 17. The complete plan for the construction of the “whirling cork”
motor...................................................................................................42
Fig. 18. The “cork” motor is tested by its young builder....................44
Fig. 19. “Little Speedy”—the most powerful of the group of motors
described.............................................................................................46
Fig. 20. The construction plan for “Little Speedy”.............................49
Fig. 21. A young engineer gives” Little Speedy” a trial run...............50
Fig. 22. The construction plan for the motor “roofing nail” motor.....53
Fig. 23. The “roofing nail” motor complete and ready for business...54
Fig. 24. How the electric switch and rheostat are made.....................56
Fig. 25. The electric switch, the “key” that “opens” and “closes” the
electric circuits....................................................................................57
Fig. 26. The electric current regulator or rheostat...............................59
Fig. 27. The plan and assembly of the water rheostat.........................60
Fig. 28. How electric motors are controlled with a rheostat and a
switch..................................................................................................61
Fig. 29. The construction plans for the current reverser.....................63
Fig. 30. The reversing switch for “Little Speedy”..............................64
Fig. 31. How the current reverser is connected to the motor and
battery..................................................................................................65
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took form until Davenport was so sure of success that he set about
constructing the device of his dreams.
In those days, one could not go to the electric shop around the
corner to buy wire or accessories and Thomas Davenport was a poor,
hard-working man with barely enough income to keep him and 1iis
young wife. Copper wire was a rarity and copper with insulated
covering was not to be had. Less determined men might have been
discouraged but not Davenport.
How much sacrifice he made to purchase his raw wire, the
world will never know, but the story of the sacrifice his pretty young
wife involuntarily made has been told. After her marriage, she had
carefully laid away her silk bridal gown. Davenport found it and, quite
unknown to her, took it to his workshop and painstakingly cut it to
shreds. Each strip of the silk was wound around his precious copper
wire so that the wire could be wound into coils for the magnets of the
motor of his dreams.
His job completed, poor Thomas Davenport finally screwed up
enough courage to tell his wife of his misdoing. She sat and listened
quietly, the tears streaming down her cheeks but she was a brave soul
and thereafter the Davenports were of one mind in the completion of a
project that finally became the first faltering step forward in the
conquest of electric power.
As the model electric motor took form, the Davenports
anxiously awaited the day when power from a battery might send it
whirling away to its place in history. The little family sacrificed
everything but food and the barest necessities of life to hasten that
day. Finally, the first motor stood complete on the bench and the
Davenports applied the electric current. After a few adjustments, the
crude armature of the motor turned and a tremendous chapter in the
history of power was opened.
To perfect and exploit his invention, Davenport formed a stock
company which he called the Electro-Magnetic Association. We can
well imagine the courage of these early stockholders in the electric
power industry. They were heroes, every one of them placing their
hard earned cash in a venture that, to the common people of that day,
must have amounted to an association of dreamers and fools.
It must be confessed that Davenport, hero that he was, had been
supplied with the essentials of his motor by other master minds,
principally the great Faraday and Joseph Henry, Professor of Natural
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Faraday invented the first motor during 1821, sixteen years before
Davenport’s contribution. His motor, which we shall examine later,
was not, however, able to deliver power whereas Davenport’s was
able to propel small machines. In Faraday’s case, he merely caused
two small wires carrying electric current to revolve about a magnet
under the impulse of electromagnetic forces. This now-famous
experiment bore fruit for the first time on Christmas Day, 1821,
shortly after his marriage. The young couple lived in a few rooms
above the headquarters and laboratory of the Royal Institute and
Faraday called up to his young wife to “come see them dance,”
meaning the moving wires. Here was the birth of an idea that was to
be of tremendous significance to the world although at the time it was
appreciated by only a few men with a knowledge of the bare essentials
of electrical science. Today, we have electric motors delivering power
that could be matched only by 10,000 straining horses.
Faraday’s creation of motion by the interplay of
electromagnetic forces was soon followed by another classical
experiment conducted by Peter Barlow of Woolwich, England. It was
in 1824 that Barlow came forth with a metal wheel that was made to
revolve slowly in a magnetic field supplied by an ordinary horseshoe
magnet. This amounted to the next step in the development of the
electric motor. Although the little disc could barely move itself, it did
revolve and it did further demonstrate that properly arranged
electromagnetic devices were capable of producing continuous
motion.
Thomas Davenport knew little or nothing about Faraday or
Barlow. He was not a learned man in the sciences but he was
imaginative, patient, and persistent which are, after all, the principal
qualifications of genius. Davenport drew his inspiration from
Professor Joseph Henry whose contributions to electrical science were
of the first order of importance and who, quite unwittingly, duplicated
many of Faraday’s researches with identical results. For one thing, he
improved electromagnets which were made by winding wire around
pieces of iron. When electric current was passed through the wire
from batteries, the iron would become magnetized and remain so until
the electric current was withdrawn.
The power of such electromagnets was limited for two reasons.
First, all electric current of that day was generated by batteries. Indeed
it was part of poor Faraday’s early morning chores at the laboratories
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Having accomplished the feat, he set about analyzing it. Into his
meticulous notebooks went the basic principles of dynamoelectric
machinery and, although over a hundred years have passed by, these
principles, as set down by him, still stand. Time has treated them well.
No young student of electricity or builder of motors should pass
by the story of the dynamo. Here we find not only a large part of the
story of electricity itself but we also discover that there is little
difference between dynamos and motors. When motors of certain
types are driven either by other motors, water wheels or engines, they
become dynamos; in place of consuming current, they generate it.
In a sense, a dynamo is like a pump in a water system. The
larger it is, the greater the amount of electricity it will generate and the
greater the amount of power that must be used to turn it. Some of our
dynamos or generators in use today require as much as 70,000
horsepower to drive them. This would amount to a single file of
horses extending for a distance of ii o miles or from New York to
Philadelphia with 20 miles of horses left over.
The “faster” the dynamos “pump” electricity, the greater will be
the voltage generated, and we discover that electric voltage is similar
to that which we call pressure in a water system. Here we find that, as
in the case of the water wheel, there can be very high electric
pressures or voltages without a great deal of power. For instance,
water may issue from a nozzle at a pressure of 1000 pounds per
square inch (which is a very high pressure) and yet, if the stream
issuing from the nozzle were directed against a giant water wheel, it
would not budge it. The giant water wheel would need water volume
as well as pressure. So it is with electricity. A million volts of
electricity is no index of power. A million volts might not have
enough energy to move a toy electric motor. For real power electricity,
like water, must have “volume” and this “volume” is called current or
amperage. The ampere means work and the volt refers to that part of
electric current that supplies the pressure or the force that pushes the
current through the wires of an electric circuit.
A proper understanding of the dynamo or motor requires an
understanding of the first principles of electricity and magnetism, two
very closely related sciences. Indeed they are so closely related that
scientists have difficulty in discovering where electricity begins and
magnetism leaves off. It is much like the two sides of a single coin.
Magnetism is always generated when electricity moves through a wire
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All magnets have what are known as poles. One end is called
the North (N) pole and the other or opposite end is called the South
(S) pole. The behavior of one pole toward the other is most
interesting. It is found that when an N pole is brought near an S pole,
attraction takes place. Not so when S and S or N and N poles are
brought together. Here a rather violent form of repulsion or “pushing
away” is noticed. One of the basic laws of magnetism and electricity
is derived from this behavior and it states in very simple terms that
“like or similar poles repel each other and dislike poles attract each
other.”
One of the most sensational discoveries in the history of science
showed the mysterious connection between electricity and magnetism.
Prior to 1819, the men who had experimented with electricity were
strongly suspicious of some relationship between it and magnetism
but no one, not even the all-seeing Faraday, was able to place a finger
on it and say, “There it is.”
The discovery was left for a young Danish professor of Physics
at the University of Copenhagen, Hans Christian Oersted. Up to
Professor Oersted’s time, it was not known that a magnetic field
surrounded a wire carrying an electric current. Surmising that such
might be the case, Oersted thought that if this was so, an ordinary
compass should indicate the fact. As a result of his suspicions, he set
up the simple experiment shown in Fig. 4. The compass needle was in
a normal position and its South pole was pointing at the earth’s North
pole. Unfortunately, nothing happened when Oersted sent a current
through the wire. Still mystified, he abandoned the experiment. Some
time later, during the year 1819, Oersted was using an electric circuit
and a compass sat close by on his laboratory bench. This time, and
quite by accident, he noticed that the compass needle moved violently
when current passed through the electric circuit and that the needle
pointed toward the wire carrying the current. When the current was
reversed in the circuit, the needle would promptly reverse itself; that
is, the opposite end would swing around. Oersted’s first experiment
failed to yield results because the needle of the compass was already
pointed at the wire and Oersted failed to reverse the current in the
circuit.
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Fig. 7. A long coil of wire with current traveling through it. produces a
magnetic field similar to that produced by a bar magnet
Among the questions that the inquiring young mind might ask
would be, “If a coil of wire carrying an electric current behaves like a
magnet, could such a coil be used in place of a compass? In short,
would its N pole be attracted by the S pole of the earth and vice
versa?” The answer to this is definitely yes, the problem being a
simple mechanical one. It might be diflju1t to make a light weight coil
and to suspend it in such a way as to make it sensitive enough and at
the same time carry current to it.
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Fig. 10. Coils of wire also behave as magnets when current passes
through them. They will be repelled or attracted by permanent magnets
Really this device amounts to a very simple motor. If the
elements were arranged properly, it would be possible to keep the
suspended coil in motion. If the magnet (or coil) held in the hand were
reversed at the proper speed, it would always be in a position to pull
or attract one end of the revolving coil. We can also understand that it
might be possible to use two reversed magnets to act on the revolving
coil in such a manner that one would be pushing while the other was
pulling.
The drawing, Fig. 11, shows the construction of a small motor
used to demonstrate the principle of electric locomotion. Study of the
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coil. The field coil is said to be in series with the revolving coil and
this is called a series wound motor.
The revolving coil (or coils) of a motor of this and similar types
is called the armature. The copper contactors mounted on the motor
shaft are called segments and they comprise what is known as the
corn- imitator. Electrical connection with the revolving segments of
the commutator, which really amounts to a revolving switch
distributing current to the revolving coil or coils at the proper instants,
is established by means of contactors called brushes which, in the case
of small toy motors, may amount only to light springy copper. Larger
and more powerful motors have brushes made of soft carbon which is
a good conductor of electricity. Brushes, no matter what they are
made of, always press gently against the segments of the commutator.
The electric motors used in the workaday world differ
somewhat in construction depending upon the current (A.C. or D.C.)
that is used and the services for which they are intended.
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Fig. 14. The Simple Simon motor; great for high speed but not much
for power
The little motor about to be made has a number of things to
recommend it. It will last for years, it is simple to fashion, and it
develops a very high speed. Only a modest set of tools is required and
any boy who is at all clever with his hands should be able to complete
the job of construction in a half day.
Construction is started with a 1/4 -inch (diameter) iron carriage
bolt 5 inches long. This is available at almost any hardware store for
about three cents. This should be cleaned with emery cloth and bent in
a vise to the shape indicated in Fig.15. This shaping will have to be
accomplished with a rather heavy hammer and the job should be done
with as much accuracy as possible. The builder will note that the
threaded end of the bolt is carefully preserved and that the head of the
bolt is cut off with a hacksaw. Later the threaded end turns out to be
very useful in fastening the electromagnet to the wooden baseboard.
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Fig. 15. The construction details for the Simple Simon motor
The electromagnet is wound on the iron bolt but, before this can
be done, some sort of preparation must be made because good
electricians never wind wire directly over metal even though the wire
is insulated. The surface of the bolt at the point where the wire is to be
placed is first covered with a single layer of ordinary electricians’
friction tape or the sort of adhesive tape found in the medicine
cabinet.
Once more the young motor builder will have to impose upon
the good nature of the local electrician or radio store proprietor for a
bit of wire with which to wind the electromagnet of the motor. This
may have either cotton, silk or enamel for insulation. About 40 or 50
feet of No. 22 to 24 will serve nicely and it should be wound into
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Fig. 16. The extreme simplicity of the “whirling cork” motor is shown
here
A cork is among the primary requisites and it must be a very
special kind of cork, one without a taper. A diligent search around the
house will usually turn up a cork of this sort. If such a thing cannot be
found, then a piece of balsa wood may be cut to this size and shape.
Such a job calls for some accuracy. The armature body must be
perfectly round. Otherwise it will be badly out of balance when it
revolves and the speed of the motor will be greatly reduced as a result.
Should the unbalance be too great, the motor will fail to operate at all.
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The next thing on the list of materials is wire and here the
builder may have to hie himself to the local radio shop for help. Very
fine insulated wire is needed and it should be of No. 28 or 30 gauge. It
so happens that every radio shop has plenty of such wire about in old
radio sets and in obsolete equipment such as radio and audio-
frequency transformers. Seven or eight feet of the wire will be plenty,
but the shop proprietor may simply give the applicant one of the
devices upon which the wire is wound. Careful removal of the wire
will be necessary to prevent it from kinking or to prevent the loss of
the insulation or covering.
Before the winding is started, the builder had best find the
center of the cork or balsa wood armature form. Perhaps as much as a
half hour should be devoted to this task if we are to have a nicely
balanced, smoothly running motor. Testing of this kind must be done
with the bearings. Therefore the builder should cut them to shape from
a tin can and mount them as shown in the drawing, Fig. 17. This done,
a pin is driven into the center of each end of the armature form and
this is then rested on the bearings and spun with the fingers. If the
armature form will spin for some time, good balance has been
achieved. If not, there will be a very noticeable wobble and the
armature will come to rest in a short time. In this event, the builder
withdraws the pins, re-sets them and tries once more to achieve
balance. Time spent in this adjustment will be amply repaid.
Balance achieved, two more pins are set in place as indicated in
the drawing, Fig. 17. These, too, must be positioned at an equal
distance from the, center of the armature so that they will not destroy
the balance of the revolving part.
The latter two pins are to serve really as segments of a
commutator; indeed they are the commutator.
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Fig. 17. The complete plan for the construction of the “whirling cork”
motor
As will be noticed in the drawing, they are so placed as to make
flying contact with two small stationary wires connected to the
terminals of the dry cell. Another part of the secret of making this
motor operate at high speed lies in arranging these tiny wires in such a
way as to make only the gentlest contact with the flying pins as they
pass. The pins used must be of the same size.
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The winding of the armature must be done with great care and
exactly the same number of turns of wire must be placed on each side.
To start the winding, the builder first clears the insulation away from
the end of the wire for a distance of exactly one inch. This bare end is
then tightly wound around one of the contactor pins previously placed
in the end of the armature drum or form. The winding is then begun
and continued until twelve turns are put in place on one side of the
form. Then a cross-over is made and twelve turns are placed on the
opposite side of the form. The builder should try to put the wire in
place with even tension in an effort to further preserve the balance of
the moving part. Should too much unequal winding tension be used,
one side of the armature will have more wire on it than the other and
only a slight difference is necessary to destroy any balance previously
achieved.
When the armature winding was begun, the builder was asked
to peel off just one inch of the insulation so that this inch of bare,
clean wire could be wound around one of the contact pins. When the
last turn of wire is set in place, this same procedure is followed, again
in an effort to preserve the balance of the delicate little armature.
Owing to the high speed developed by a motor of this type, it
may be advisable to wind two or three turns of thread around the
middle of the armature to prevent the wire from becoming loose and
shifting its position. In any event, if the builder has a bit of shellac
handy, no harm will be done by covering the whole armature with this
preparation. The excellent adhesive properties of this may make it
unnecessary to use the thread.
After the small stationary contactor wires have been set up and
adjusted so as to cause minimum interference with the movement of
the armature, the magnets are put in place on the blocks. Full power
and the highest speed will be developed by the motor only if the poles
of the magnets are brought as close as possible to the armature. The
relationship of the facing poles of the magnets is also of great
importance because the motor will refuse to run if these are not
correct. Thereafter, if the motor refuses to run after the dry cell is
connected to it, one of the magnets is turned upside down, which
reverses its poles. If this is the trouble with the motor, the correction
will have been made and the motor should start off, Of course, the
motor will refuse to start if the two pins on the armature are out of
contact with the stationary wires at the moment the current is applied.
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Otherwise, no current from the dry cell will be able to reach the
armature coils. Hence, a spin with the fingers will also set the motor
off to a sure, quick start.
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shape. This must be done in a vise and with a hammer. As the work
proceeds, the importance of balance is kept constantly in mind. The
piece is carefully marked where the bends are to be made.
This done, a hole must be drilled through the exact center of the
armature and this should be just large enough to admit the large
finishing nail (minus head) that is to be used as a shaft. This member
is soldered to the armature frame. If soldering facilities are not
available, then the builder will have to seek out assistance in some
neighborhood workshop. The best possible accuracy is called for so
that the soft iron armature frame will revolve accurately without
wobbling.
This latter operation prepares the armature for winding but
before this is done, it will be advisable to set the motor bearings up
and to test the armature for balance before the wire is wound in place
on the two poles. Then if the armature is badly out of balance, it will
be an easy matter to set it in the vise and file off metal on the heavy
side until balance is restored.
Before the wire is wound in place, the soft iron poles are
covered with a single layer of adhesive tape. Exactly the same amount
of tape is used on each leg.
A motor of maximum power calls for the use of 100 feet of No.
24 cotton-covered wire on each pole of the armature. This is wound
tightly and each turn of wire is made to hug the adjacent turn as
closely as possible.
In motors of this type it is required that the wire on the second
pole of the armature be wound in place in the opposite direction.
Therefore, when the builder begins the second coil, the winding
continues in the same way save for this reversal.
No matter how carefully the armature winding is set in place, it
will be quite impossible to have the same amount of wire on each pole
even though the same number of turns are counted. Therefore, it will
be advisable to test again the armature for balance after the windings
are completed and the ends of the wire arc temporarily twisted
together to prevent unwinding. Testing will usually show that one side
of the armature is heavier than the other. This may be easily remedied
by the removal of one or two turns of wire which will not seriously
interfere with the “electrical balance” required.
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Fig. 22. The construction plan for the motor “roofing nail” motor
Before this connection between the pins and the shaft can be
established, it will be necessary to set the shaft in place. The shaft
itself may be a large finishing nail with the head cut off and each end
filed to a sharp point for use on the pivot bearings illustrated. The
electrical connection from the four pins may be soldered or simply
squeezed around the shaft.
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Some care must be taken in putting the shaft in place. Here, too,
a certain minimum degree of accuracy is called for if a smooth-
running motor is to be had. Inasmuch as the hole running through the
center of the spool is much larger than the nail, this must be plugged
with a piece of wood and drilled so that the nail may be forced
through the hole. Should the builder have a power drill in his cellar
workshop, this task should be a very simple one. If not, and a hand
drill is used, some caution will be needed and some difficulty may be
encountered. In any event, we struggle to achieve as much accuracy as
possible.
Making the electromagnet is simple enough. A 3-inch carriage
bolt is used as the core and this may be bought for about three cents at
any hardware store. Adhesive tape is wound in place over the bolt
before the wire is wound. The latter may be any size between No. 18
and No. 22, the smaller the wire, the more (in feet) being required.
The bearings may be cut from used tin cans. The dimples or
depressions in which the sharpened ends of the shaft revolve are made
by the use of a sharp- pointed nail. Some care must be used to see to it
that they are both placed at the same height. Both are held in place on
the baseboard of the motor with a small wood screw. Care should also
be taken to see that the bearings are in perfect line. Otherwise, the
shaft will not revolve without a wobble and the motor will fail to
reach its maximum speed.
Fig. 23. The “roofing nail” motor complete and ready for business
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Fig. 24. How the electric switch and rheostat are made
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Fig. 25. The electric switch, the “key” that “opens” and “closes” the
electric circuits
When the switch is used with any one of the toy motors
described, the young e1çtrician should see to it that the moveable strip
is firmly pushed under the stationary one when he wants to close the
circuit for the operation of the motor. Otherwise, a bad electrical
connection will be made and such connections always cause the loss
of a certain amount of electricity. Having so little to use, we cannot
afford this.
While such a switch is an excellent “bit” in the teeth of our
small electric horse, it has rather bad limitations. After all, it will only
start him and stop him. At times, we may wish to make him trot or
make him walk. Clearly, no switch will permit this. Something is
needed that will regulate the flow of electric current. It is good news
that this may be done quite easily.
Perhaps we know that electricity does not pass through all
things—glass and silk, for instance. Such things are called insulators.
Other things permit a small amount of current to pass. The metals are
good conductors, but there is a wide variation between them. Silver
and copper are best. Compared with them iron is poor and so is lead.
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Some metals have been mixed together to form alloys and these alloys
have what is known as “high resistance” to the passage of electric
current. The wire found in our electric toasters and heaters is made
from one of these special alloys. This wire has such a choking effect
on the current that great heat is produced when the current is forced
through it. It is called “resistance wire.” A small length of it may have
as much resistance to the passage of electricity as many hundreds or
thousands of feet of large copper wire.
Perhaps the young electrician will by now have grasped the
principle used in applying resistance wire to the control of electric
motors. Doubtless we simply connect a certain amount of this wire in
the circuit with the motor. Really, it is not quite so simple as that
because arrangements must also be made to vary the amount of the
resistance wire in the circuit. Otherwise, the motor would have only
one speed (slower) and the user would not have gained complete
control. A simple device is needed that will measure out and take in
this wire quickly so that more or less of it may be quickly placed in a
circuit and removed. One might think that a device designed for this
purpose would be expensive and complicated but this is not so.
The reader will agree after the examination of Fig. 24(B). Here
the student will find that the resistance wire is wound up in the form,
of a long spiral so that a larger amount of it may be placed within a
small space. Secondly, it is noted that a moveable metal point or arm
is so arranged as to have its end play over the wire spiral forming an
electrical contact with it. At the position A, only one half of the
resistance wire will be in the circuit. The lines show the path taken by
the current. That part of the resistance wire having no current passing
through it might just as well not be there. It amounts to a dead end.
When the lever of the device is moved to the position shown in Fig.
24(B), only a very small amount of the resistance will remain in the
circuit and a short advance from this position will eliminate all of it
and still further increase the speed of the motor.
But how much wire will be needed to control the speed of a
motor—any motor—? This depends on a number of things: the
voltage of the electric current, the number of amperes that must flow,
the size and length of the resistance wire and the metals in the alloy.
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Fig. 28. How electric motors are controlled with a rheostat and a
switch
Here the electrical resistance in the motor circuit is regulated
within wide limits by adjusting the distance between the piece of
metal at the bottom of the glass and the moveable piece of metal
mounted at the end of the metal rod. The small piece of spring brass
fixed to the top of the device and pressing against the rod is used to
keep the latter in any position.
Fig. 28 shows how a battery motor, switch and rheostat are
connected together for operation. The motor builder should make sure
that the switch is left in the “open” position when he completes his
work.
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not catch the edges of the moving segments as they are turned. A little
fussing with this adjustment will produce smooth operation. The wood
screw that serves as the shaft for the wood disc also needs careful
adjustment. It should not be too tight or too loose. The use of the
small washer between the head of the screw and the disc is also
necessary. The screw should be just tight enough to prevent shifting of
position once the reverser has been operated.
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Fig. 31. How the current reverser is connected to the motor and
battery
Small motors operated with current from one or two dry cells
require good electrical connections because of the low voltage of the
power source. Little motors of the type described in this book can
easily become inoperative because of dirty or loose connections. The
connections should be kept as short as possible and tightly clamped
or, better, soldered.
When connected as shown in Fig. 31, the operation of the
reverser switch is very simple. When it is desired to reverse the motor
the handle is simply pushed in either direction as far as it will go.
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efficient machine but, unlike the steam engine, its direction of motion
cannot be reversed. Electric drive, however, makes reversal easy.
Perhaps one of the most interesting electric trains in the world
operates for the C.M. and St.P. railroad over the Rocky Mountains.
This is an enormous engine of 5,000 horsepower rating and carries
sixteen electric motors in all, one for each axle of the sixteen sets of
wheels. The peculiar thing about these motors is that the engineers
who designed them arranged matters so that the motors would also
serve as generators. When current was fed to them, they were ordinary
motors. On the other hand, they generated current, when they were
mechanically driven.
After reaching the peak of the Rockies, the road descends many
miles, and the locomotives, steam or electric, have to coast. When
coasting, then, why would it not be possible to permit the moving
locomotive to drive the motors, the motors then acting as generators?
That was a simple question and it was answered by the electrical
engineers of the General Electric Company who designed and built
this first “floating power house” as it has been called. Now, when
these great locomotives roll down either side of the Great Divide, the
motors are switched over to serve as generators and the generators, in
place of taking power from the line, pump it back to help locomotives
struggling up the opposite side. Not only that, but the generators
require power to turn them and they serve beautifully as brakes.
Fifty years ago, no American home could boast of an electric
motor. Now millions of homes have motors, some as many as 20 or
30. Countless millions of motors are used in transportation and
industry and even our great transport and military planes carry a
number of fractional horsepower motors aloft. It can be truly said that
a very large part of our “Electric Age” is supplied by the electric
motor.
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