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
Generator in a
Hydro Plant
Geothermal Generator
Image courtesy of DOE / NREL
Electric Turbine
Generator
Electromagnets
N
S
Electromagnet ends
change between north
and south depending
on the direction of the
current.
S
N
Magnet Poles
N
S
Remember that opposite poles attract and like
poles repel.
If you alternate the middle magnets poles, it will
continue to spin.
N S N
S N S
This is how motors can turn!
Parts of a Basic DC Motor
N
S
N S
DC Source
Armature
Commutator
Brush
Commutator
Brush
Motor: A device used to convert electric energy into
mechanical energy.
Permanent
Magnet
Permanent
Magnet
Parts of a Small DC Motor
Armature
Commutator
Permanent
Magnets
Brushes
Wire
Connections
Electric Generators
N
S
N S
Mechanical motion turns the armature which creates current.
Many DC motors can function as a generator.

Generator: A device used to convert mechanical
energy into electrical energy.
From the Power Plant to Your Home
Power plants
generate electricity.
Image courtesy of Sacramento Municipal Utility District
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
Large towers transmit electricity over long
distances.
Images courtesy of DOE / NREL
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.
Step One: Wrap the Coil

1) Sand the top half
of the contact on one
side
2) Sand all the way
around the contact on the
other side
Contact
Coil
Contact
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 1diameter
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

Preparing Your Armature
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.