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Motors

A current carrying wire has its own magnetic field.  If we put this wire into a magnet it will experience a force.  This will make it move. The direction of movement can be predicted using Flemming's left hand rule:
Hold your left hand in a fist and then spread out the thumb, first finger and second finger so that they are at fight-angles to each other.
  • Point your First finger in the direction of the magnetic Field (from N to S).
  • Rotate your hand about that finger until your second finger points in the direction of the Current (conventional current, from + to -).
  • Then your thumb points in the direction of the Movement of the wire.

We can use this idea to make a motor:if we put a coil of current carrying wire into a magnetic field it will spin.   

Motors use split-pin contacts so that the coil will spin: this means that a coil will make half a turn, upwards for example, and then touch the opposite contact which will make it spin downwards. Otherwise the coil would only make half a turn. Test this with your left hand rule!



Look at the pictures below:
Picture
Picture

Generators

Alternatively, if we spin a coil of wire in a magnetic field, a current will be induced in the wire.  These generators produce AC current. You can predict the direction of the current using Flemming's Right hand rule. It has the same fingers as the left-hand rule.  Use it to see why the generator produces AC current.
Picture
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  • Home
  • GCSE
    • Combined Science >
      • The History of the Universe
      • Telescopes
      • Infrasound
      • The Structure of the Earth and Seismic Waves
      • Life Cycle of a Star
      • The Big Bang Theory and The Doppler Effect
    • Radioactivity >
      • The Structure of an Atom
      • Types of Radiation
      • Uses of Radiation
      • Nuclear Fission
      • Half Life
    • Electricity >
      • Static Electricity
      • Current, Voltage, Energy
      • Circuit Symbols
      • Series and Parallel Circuits
      • Ohm's Law and Resistance
      • Alternating Current
      • Electrical Safety
      • Energy and Pricing
      • The National Grid
    • Electromagnetism >
      • Magnets and Electromagnets
      • Electromagnetic Induction
      • Motors and Generators
      • Transformers
    • Waves >
      • Sound and Ultrasound
      • Wave Properties >
        • Reflection and Refraction
        • Diffraction
        • Images in a Mirror
        • Interference
      • EM Spectrum and it's uses >
        • Radiowaves
        • Microwaves
        • Infra Red
        • Visible Light
        • UV
        • X- Rays
        • Gamma Rays
    • Forces and Motion >
      • Speed and Velocity
      • Graphs of Motion
      • Newton's Laws
      • Common Forces
      • Terminal Velocity
      • Elasticity
      • Moments
      • Circular Motion
      • Momentum
      • Car Safety
    • Particles >
      • States of Matter
      • Density
      • Pressure
      • Ideal Gases
      • Changing State and Temperature >
        • Specific Heat Capacity
        • Specific Latent Heat
      • Heat Transfer >
        • Conduction
        • Convection
        • Cooling
        • Radiation
    • Energy Resources and Energy Transfer >
      • Energy and Efficiency
      • Heat Loss In the Home
      • Gravitational Potential Energy
      • Kinetic Energy
      • Work
      • Power Stations
  • Physics Skills
    • How to Write up an Experiment >
      • Hypothesis
      • Methods
      • How to Draw a Graph
      • Results Tables
      • Conclusions
      • Evaluations
    • Mathematics >
      • Rearranging Equations
      • Substituting into Equations
      • Trigonometry
      • Errors
  • Lesson Blog
  • Apps
  • Teachers Area