PART A

Electricity is the industrialized worlds key energy source. This is because

it is relatively easy to produce from other energy sources; is relatively
easy to distribute and can be easily converted into other energy forms
such as light, heat, sound and mechanical energy. An electric motor is one
such electromechanical device that transforms electrical energy into
mechanical energy.

THEORY/ SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLE

According to the laws of magnetic poles, like poles repel each other and
unlike poles attract each other. Every magnet has a magnetic field
surrounding it. This field is a region around a magnetic material or a
moving electric charge within which the force of magnetism acts.
Magnetic fields are showed in diagrams through lines. These lines show
the magnitude as well as the direction. Magnetic field lines emerge from
the north pole and arrive at the south pole.
Motor Effect and Right hand palm rule
The basic principle behind the working of dc motors is the motor effect.
Any object carrying an electric current will have its own magnetic field.
Hence, a current carrying wire will produce its own magnetic field. When
this wire is placed in an external magnetic field e.g. between two
magnets, then the wires magnetic field will interact with the external
magnetic field of the magnets. This interaction will generate a force on
the wire causing it to move. Michael Faraday discovered this effect and is
known as the motor effect. The direction of this induced force can be
determined using the right-hand palm rule.
When the right hand palm rule is in use:- The thumb is in the direction of current flow
- The fingers are in the direction of the magnetic field
- The palm is in the direction of the force

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Year 12 Physics

Right hand palm rule

The force acting on the current carrying wire depends on many factorsMagnetic field- the stronger the magnetic field, the stronger the force
acting on individual electrons. Therefore the force on wire is proportional
to the strength of the magnetic field.
Current- increasing the current increases the rate of current flow, hence
the greater the force on the conductor.
Length of the conductor- the greater the length of the current carrying
wire in a magnetic field, the more electrons experience a force at the
same time and hence the greater the total force.
The angle- there is maximum force experienced when charged particles
move at right angles to the field lines, and they experience a zero force
when they move parallel to the field lines. Since the direction of motion of
electrons depends on the direction of conductor, it follows that the force is
proportional to the sine ratio of the angle between the wire and the field.
Summing this up, mathematically:F=BIl sin
Where
F= force experienced on the wire (N)
B= magnetic flux density (T)
I= electron flow in a second (A)
l= length of the conductor (m)
= angle between conductor and field ()

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Year 12 Physics

Torque
Torque (or Moment) is the tendency of a force to rotate or turn an entity
about an axis (or fulcrum). A force can be thought as a push or a pull, in
the same way a torque can be thought of as a twist to an object. It is
defined as the product of force and the perpendicular distance from the
axis to the line of action of the force. Its unit is newton-metre.
Mathematically, T= Fp.

Consider a rectangular coil in a plane parallel to a magnetic field B. If this

is viewed from the top, current is seen to flow in anti-clockwise direction.
Sides LK and MN carry currents at right angles to the field, thus there will
be maximum force acting on them. As sides KN and ML carry current
parallel to the field, there will not be any force acting on them. The net
effect is that the coil experiences a torque causing it to rotate in a
clockwise direction if the line of sight goes into the page.
The force F acting on sides LK and MN is given by F= B.I.l where l is the
length of the sides LK and MN. The torque is given by T= F x (A/2) + F x
(A/2) = FA where A is the area of the coil.
Substituting for F in the expression for torque- T= BIA. For n coils- T=
nBIA.
In general, when the plane of the coil is inclined at an angle to the field,
T= nBIA.cos
From the equation above, it can be noted that torque is directly
proportional to the number of loops, the strength of the magnetic field,
amperage in the coil and the area enclosed by the coil. Increasing any of
these factors (except the angle) will increase the torque by that particular
multiple. Furthermore, because of the cosine ratio, as the coil rotates its
torque will decrease as the angle between the plane and the field
increases. Therefore if the initial position of the plane of the coil is
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Year 12 Physics

perpendicular to the field, it will not rotate (cos90=0). Therefore initially

the plane of the coil must be parallel to the magnetic field for efficient
working.
Electric DC Motors

A commutator DC motor converts electrical energy into mechanical

energy. A simple electric DC motor consists of five main components:
A rotor (consisting of an armature and associated coils)
A magnetic field produced by permanent magnets or by
electromagnets; equivalent to the stator.
A commutator to reverse the direction.
Conducting brushes to take the current to and from the armature.
An axle to provide an axis of rotation for the motor.
The rotor
In its simplest form the rotor consists of a single coil of wire. In most
practical motors, a number of rotor coils are wrapped around an armature.
A simple rotor is shown in the diagram above. When this rotor is in a
magnetic field and if the current is flowed through it, it is this part that
spins.
The stator
As per the name, the stator remains stationary throughout the working
process. The stator consists of permanent magnets or electromagnets
which provide magnetic field. To improve the smoothness of the torque,
curved magnets are used (radial magnetic field).
Rotor-stator interaction

Consider the diagram above; if the current is in clockwise direction (if

viewed from the top), then it will spin in clockwise direction for first half of
the cycle. After that the current direction will change and the coil will spin
back in anti-clockwise direction. The net effect is that the coil will stop in a
vertical plane. To neutralise this, a device called split ring commutator is
used which in turn reverses the direction and allows the coil to spin in one
direction.

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Year 12 Physics

Split-ring commutator and conducting brushes

This consists of a copper cylinder divided into two electrically separated
halves. Each half is connected to one side of the armature. Conducting
brushes consist of the conducting material graphite which also acts as a
lubricant. Brushes make contact with the commutator as it rotates. They
are firmly held through springs.

Operation of DC motor
There is a rectangular coil placed in a magnetic field. The initial position of
the coil is parallel to the magnetic field and the split ring is also aligned
just the way shown in the diagram above. If the current passes through
coil, it will start to rotate in the same direction for the first quarter of the
cycle. The brushes touch their corresponding sides of the split ring
commutator. As soon as this phase finishes, there would not be any
current flow in the coil since the brushes now face the gap in the
commutator. Therefore, the coil will continue to rotate due to its
momentum and enters the second quarter. In this phase, the brushes
come in contact with the opposite sides of the commutator which results
in the change of direction of current in both the wires. This allows the coil
to keep spinning in the same direction and the current continues to flow
until the coil is once again perpendicular to the field. The brushes once
again come in contact with the split which allows the coil to rotate freely.
After the fourth quarter stars, it follows the same process as when the coil
entered its second quarter. This makes the coil to further rotate in the
same direction and the whole process keeps repeating.

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Year 12 Physics

PART B
Experimental report and model
Aim- To build a working model of a simple DC motor and investigate
motor effect.

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Year 12 Physics

Materials- a roll of magnet wire or insulated wire, wooden base, a pair

of magnets (rare-earth magnets are suitable), a 1.5 V cell, pair of
scissors, battery connector, 4 4-hole angle brackets (they should be
attracted towards magnets), light wooden rod for armature, some nails,
hammer, sticky tape, wooden block, screws, screw driver, paper clips.
Method
1. Wrap 30-40 turns of wire around a rectangular prism (eg. Small
wooden block). Allow the ends to be long.
2. Using a knife, scrap off the insulation at the ends of the wire. Take
out the wooden block so that the coil has a rectangular shape. Be
careful
3. Push the wooden rod through the short-axis of the rectangular coil.
Tape the coil with the rod so that it holds the coil tight just like the
way shown in the picture below.

4. Take one end of the coil and fold it into a zigzag wave-like structure
along that piece of wire and squeeze it to produce one compressed
wave like the way shown in the picture below. Do it same for the
other end.

5. Tape these to the rod. This will act like a commutator.

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Year 12 Physics

Side View

Top View

Note: the folds have to be more compared to the picture above.

They should cover the maximum area possible i.e. a little less than
half the circumference of the rod. The tape must not fully cover the
folds as they should be able to come in contact with the brushes. Make
sure that the centres of the commutator folds line up with the centre
of the coil windings.
6. Pound a nail each on the tips of the rod through the cross-section.
Do not hammer the nail all the way in; stop when around half of it is
through. Be careful.
7. Take one of the brackets and attach it near the edge of the wooden
base. Make sure that it is in the middle along the width of the
wooden base. Take the armature and rest the nail on its tip through
the hole of the bracket.

8. Do the same step before for the other end with a second bracket.
The armature should have very little room to move back and forth.
In this way the armature will rest freely on the brackets and can
rotate with very little amount of friction.
9. Attach the other two brackets beside each half of the plane of the
coil. Allow some room and attach both the magnets on each
bracket. The setup till now should look like the one shown in the
image below. The magnets must face their opposite poles.

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Year 12 Physics

10. With the use of hammer and nails, join the wooden block below
the part of the armature where commutator is situated.
11. Stick a paperclip each on the wooden block and either side of the
commutator. The clips should firmly connect with the commutator
but not too tightly that they prevent the armature from spinning.
Paperclips must be conductors.
12. Connect the cell with the battery connector with correct
alignment of the terminals. Connect one piece of wire from the
connector to one of the paperclips. Connect the second wire with
the clip manually. When the circuit is complete, the motor should
start spinning. If it doesnt, then check for circuit breaks, brush and
commutator contacts.

Risk assessment
To make a perfectly working model of a dc motor seems a
challenging task. All the steps must be followed very accurately to
ensure steady motion and easy starts. However there are risks
associated while performing this task. One of the first risks present
is while scraping off the insulation. As wires have really small
diameters, this step should not be done in hands. The wires should
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Year 12 Physics

be kept on secondary hard surfaces and then scrap off the

insulation. Knives are sharp objects and it should be made sure that
they do not cause any skin cuts. In case of this, the process should
be immediately stopped and that part of skin should be held under
running water. Bandage should be applied after that. Do not touch
any part of the motor when the power is on to prevent burns due to
some parts of the motor being hot. Ensure that the electricity is
turned off whenever you finish from performing a specific trial to
avoid injuries to participants when they get in contact with the
experiment. Furthermore, care should be taken while hammering
the nails as injuries are caused while undertaking this action.
Correct eye level must be maintained.

Discussion/Evaluation
As model building was completed after the first attempt, it did not
rotate. This was expected as the steps were not accurately undertaken
as the primary aim was to design a rough sketch. Several changes
were made in the design i.e. the wire ends from the coil were more
firmly connected to the paperclips. Furthermore, the insulation was
once again scrapped to ensure less resistance. After the several
changes, the model was once again tested and it eventually spun. After
this, several variables were altered to investigate the effects on the
speed of armatures rotations. Firstly, one of the magnets was removed
and it was observed that the motor spun slower compared to the
original design. Secondly, the number of turns of the coil was increased
by ten and it was detected that the rotation speed increased
immensely compared to the original design. Additionally, the initial
position of the coil was set to be perpendicular to the magnetic field
and was then connected to the cell. The coil did not move at all. Thus,
the experiment gave out valid results confirming the formula T=
nBIA.cos.
Sources of error
As this task is challenging and consumes quite time, errors tend to
happen. One frequent error experienced was of the magnets facing like
poles. As for motor effect to work, magnetic field lines should emerge
from one and arrive at the other. However with magnets facing like poles
this does not happen and it will fail. So this should be checked and
corrected. Secondly, when scrapping off enamelled wire, it is difficult to
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Year 12 Physics

detect the difference. The only significant difference between the

enamelled wire and scrapped off wire is the roughness of their surface. If
this change is not detected then this means that the insulation is not
removed correctly and will not allow the current to flow. This will prevent
the rotor from spinning. Additionally, another frequently occurring error is
loose connections in the circuit. Prior to attaching the coil through the rod,
its electrical conductivity should be checked by directly connecting it with
a cell and observing features like light sparks, rising coil temperature etc.
References

Jacaranda Physics 2- HSC Course

It is revised and updated to meet all the requirements of the
amended Stage 6 Physics Syllabus for Year 12 students in New
South Wales ensuring that it is reliable and a valid source.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/
This source wholly owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications,
is the award-winning source of credible, unbiased, and easy-tounderstand explanations of how the world actually works.

http://hsc.csu.edu.au/
From the disclaimer section of this website- In compiling the
information contained in and accessed through this resource, the
NSW Department of Education and Communities and Charles Sturt
University have used their best endeavours to ensure that the
information is correct and current at the time of publication.
Therefore this can be considered valid, reliable source.
Excel HSC Physics
A specialised study guide designed to guide students undertaking
physics course in their HSC year. This book is written by Neville
Warren. Information and concepts provided in this book match
exactly with other provided references proving that all the sources
are reliable and valid.

Viraj Shah
Year 12 Physics