Motors and Generators

Motors and Generators

• Electromagnets
• Magnet Poles
• Parts of a Basic DC Motor
• Electric Generators
• From the Power Plant to Your Home
 Motors and Generators

Small DC Motor
Image courtesy of DOE / NREL

Geothermal Generator

Generator in a
Hydro Plant

Electric Turbine
Generator
Electromagnets
N
S
Electromagnet ends
change between north
and south depending
on the direction of the
current.

S
N
 Magnetism

-s defined as the physical phenomenon

produced by moving electric charge.
-produces attraction and repulsion
between objects like pole ( north-north
or south-south) of
N a magnet
S repel each
other while unlike poles (north-south or
south-north) attract each other.
 Magnet Poles
Remember that opposite poles attract and like
poles repel.
If you alternate the middle magnet’s poles, it will
continue to spin.

N N S S

This is how motors can turn!

 -in 1820 a Danish
physicist discovered
that magnetism was
produced by current-
carrying wires.
-it means electric
current produces
magnetic field
-in 1831 Michael faraday
and joseph henry of US
found that moving wire
in a close circuit across
a magnetic field will
make current flow in the
circuit
-it means magnetism
produces current.
 Parts of a Basic DC Motor
Motor: A device used to convert electric energy into
mechanical energy.
Brush

DC Source

Commutator Armature Permanent

Magnet

N N S S
Commutator
Permanent
Magnet
Brush
 Electric Motors
• Converts electrical energy into mechanical
energy
• electrical energy is used by electric motors
• Electrical energy is in input form
• Mechanical energy is the output form
• Current is supplied in motors
• Used in refrigerator, elevators, pumps
• Energy transformation: electrical to
mechanical energy
 Parts of a Small DC Motor
Brushes

Wire
Connections

Permanent
Magnets

Armature
Commutator
a.armature- coil of wire that turns in the
magnetic field
b.Brushed-copper metal chips that conducts
electricity from the source to the
commutator
c. Commutator- as split ring that reverses
the current every half turn
d.Field magnets-bar magnets that produces
magnetic field
e.Power source-supplies power to the motor
armature of field coils
 Electric Generators
Generator: A device used to convert
mechanical energy into electrical energy .
Mechanical motion turns the armature which creates current.
Many DC motors can function as a generator.

N N S S
 Electric Generators
• Converts mechanical energy into electrical energy
• Electrical energy is produced by electric generator
• Mechanical energy is in the input form
• Electrical energy is output form
• Current is generated in generator
• Used to generate electricity used in industries and
household as well as general lighting and
powering batteries
• Energy transformation: mechanical to electrical
energy
From the Power Plant to Your Home

Image courtesy of Sacramento Municipal Utility District

Power plants
generate electricity.
 From the Power Plant to Your Home

Step up transformers increase voltage for

transmission across large towers.
Increased voltage increases efficiency.
 From the Power Plant to Your Home

Images courtesy of DOE / NREL

Large towers transmit electricity over long

distances.
From the Power Plant to Your Home

Step down transformers reduce voltage

at substations to acceptable levels for the
end user.
 From the Power Plant to Your Home

Electricity arrives at your home at a

junction box.
Usage is measured with a meter.
 Preparing Your Armature
Step One: Wrap the Coil
1) Cut a 3ft section of Magnet wire
2) Start coiling the wire 3” from the end of end of
the wire. Wrap the wire around a 1”diameter
dowel rod until a 3” length remains.
3) Carefully hold the coil together and pull it off of
the dowel rod. Wrap the coil with the 3”
lengths you had left at the beginning and end
of your coil.

Step Two: Sand the Contacts

Coil

Contact Contact

1) Sand the top half 2) Sand all the way around

of the contact on one the contact on the other
side side
 Motors and Generators
• Electromagnets
• Magnet Poles
• Parts of a Basic DC Motor
• Electric Generators
• From the Power Plant to Your Home
Image Resources
Microsoft, Inc. (2008). Clip Art. Retrieved September 10, 2008, from
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2008). Photographic

information eXchange. Retrieved November 5, 2008, from
http://www.nrel.gov/data/pix/searchpix.html

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). (2008). Power plant

[Image]. Sacramento: Sacramento Municipal Utility District.