Post on 17-Dec-2015
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 GeneratorImage 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 magnet’s poles, it will continue to spin.
N SN SN S
This is how motors can turn!
Parts of a Basic DC Motor
N SN S
DC Source
ArmatureCommutator
Brush
Commutator
Brush
Motor: A device used to convert electric energy into mechanical energy.
PermanentMagnet
PermanentMagnet
Electric Generators
N SN 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 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
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.