Make Simple Homemade Electric Generator

Physics/

March 4, 2015/

by admin/

Simplest homemade electric generator

Simplest homemade electric generator

Make a Simplest homemade electrical generator lights a LED

Electricity by shaking magnets

Experiment Level: Secondary Class, Concept: Induced electromotive force lights

a LED.

Introduction:Simplest homemade electrical generator lights a LED

A changing magnetic flux through a coil induces a current in the coil. The
phenomenon is called electromagnetic induction and it was discovered by

Michael Faraday in England in 1831. It is one of the most important phenomena

in physics and in practical use. It needs a galvanometer, a strong magnet and a
coil which has enough turns to demonstrate the phenomenon to students. Sadly
a galvanometer is a little expensive and difficult to find. However a good
demonstration of the phenomenon can be done using strong bar magnet and a
LED display instead of a galvanometer.

Materials:
1.two red LED (transparent type)
2.a piece of plywood (size 7 cm15 cm, thickness 5 mm)
3.wood base (7 cm6 cm1 cm)
4.2 brass screws
5.2 connecting wires (length 20 cm)
6.a coil (about 1000turns)]
7.strong bar magnet / ten ferrite magnets
8.a plastic pipe (diameter 25 mm, length 1 m)
9.two connecting wires with crocodile clips

Construction:
1.Draw a blue circle and a red circle on the plywood and make 4 holes for two
LED as shown in Fig.2.
2.Attach the plywood to the wood base using wood glue and fix two brass screws
on the base as shown in Fig.3.
3.Paint two LED blue and red using permanent markers.
4.Attach 2 LED to the holes of the plywood and wire them using soldering iron as
shown in Fig.3.

Working:
1.Arrange the equipments as shown in Fig.4.

2.Put the coil on a table vertically and fill the bottom of the coil hole with tissue.
3.Put the plastic pipe on the top of the coil hole vertically.
4.Fall the bar magnet from the top of the plastic pipe.
5.One of the LED will be switched on.
6.Put the magnet upside down and try again. The other LED will be switched on.

Science:

In 1831, Michael Faraday discovered that an electromotive force is induced in a

coil when the
magnetic flux passing through the coil increases or decreases. This process is
called electromagnetic induction. Faradays law says: The magnitude of the
induced electromotive force is proportional to the rate at which the magnetic flux
passing through the coil changes.
Lenzs law says: The direction of the induced current is that it sets up a
magnetic field that tends
to stop the cause producing it. As shown inFig.5, there is a coil and its ends are
connected to a galvanometer. (a) In the case that the north pole of the bar
magnet moves into the coil As the magnetic flux passing through the coil is
increasing, the current induced in the coil sets up
a magnetic field that decreases the flux. So, the induced current flows as shown
in Fig.5 (a).
(b) In the case that the north pole of the bar magnet withdraws from the coil as
the magnetic flux passing through the coil is decreasing, the current induced in
the coil sets up a magnetic field that increases the flux. So, the induced current
flows as shown in Fig.5 (b). When you connect the LED display to the ends of the
coil and fall a bar magnet from 1m height as shown in Fig.6, what will happen? In
this case, the red LED will be switched on, because this case is same as that of
Fig.5 (a).

Put the magnet upside down and try again. This time, the blue LED will be
switched on.

Things to do:

1. Consider the reason why you must fall a magnet from high place.
2. Try to demonstrate the experiment using a galvanometer instead of the LED
display.