Motors and generators
Now a DC motor is also a DC generator. Have a look at the next animation. The
coil, split ring, brushes and magnet are exactly the same hardware as the motor
above, but the coil is being turned, which generates an emf.
If you use mechanical energy to rotate the coil (N turns, area A) at uniform
angular velocity ω in the magnetic field
B,
it will produce a sinusoidal emf in the coil. emf (an emf or
electromotive force is almost the same thing as a voltage). Let θ be
the angle between
B and the normal to the coil, so the magnetic flux φ is
NAB.cos θ. Faraday's law gives:
emf = − dφ/dt = − (d/dt)
(NBA cos θ)
= NBA sin θ (dθ/dt)
= NBAω sin ωt.
The animation above would be called a DC generator. As in the DC motor,
the ends of the coil connect to a split ring, whose two halves are contacted
by the brushes. Note that the brushes and split ring 'rectify' the emf produced:
the contacts are organised so that the current will always flow in the same
direction, because when the coil turns past the dead spot, where the brushes
meet the gap in the ring, the connections between the ends of the coil and
external terminals are reversed. The emf here (neglecting the dead spot, which conveniently happens at zero volts) is
|NBAω sin ωt|,
as sketched.
