can someone explain generators and motors to me ?

Question by happyfreak: can someone explain generators and motors to me ?
i read whats there in my book just need other simplified versions.... :D


Best answer:

Answer by DAVID H
OK Well, both generators and motors use electromagnetic induction. What that means is that, whenever a conductor and a magnetic field MOVE WITH RESPECT ONE ANOTHER, then an electric current is induced in the conductor. When that happens, a magnetic field is produced around the conductor. This field then interacts with the first field, and this can produce different pushes and pulls on the conductor ie the conductor feels a force.

Right, let's consider a simple MOTOR. The basic fact about a motor that you should remember is that

ELECTRICITY IN PRODUCES MOVEMENT OUT.

Just think of an electric drill. You have to connect it to the mains supply in you house, then press the switch to make it rotate. Inside the drill, there are many coils of wire that are wound on a spindle called a . Inside the motor there are strong, perminent magnets. These coils sit in the field produced by these permanent, magnets. When you feed electricity through the coils, magnetic fields around the coils that then interact with the field from the permanent magnet. The coils experience a force that tries to throw them out of the perminent field [recall the left hand rule]. But because the coils are wound on a former, the whole lot just rotates.

For a simple GENERATOR, you need to remember that

MOVEMENT IN PRODUCES ELECTRICITY OUT

This is the opposite of the way a motor works. Again, we have a coil of wire wound on a former and this coil is sitting in the field of a perminent magnet, exactly like a motor. But this time, SOME EXTERNAL FORCE MUST BE APPLIED TO THE COILS TO MAKE THEM ROTATE IN THE MAGNETIC FIELD.
When that happens, an electric current is induced in the coil, and this electricity can then be used to run a TV, or air-conditioning unit, or cooker, or ....... well, you get the idea.

The external force can come from water, where the force of the water causes the coils to rotate as in a hydroelectric power station, or you can use a small, petrol driven motor to rotate the coils, or you can use wind to blow on sails that are connected to the coils to make that rotate, or we can use nuclear energy to create heat that boils water and we can use the steam pressure to rotate the coils and so on.
Hope this has cleared up your confusion.

Give your answer to this question below!