It has always been a question of mine that ive never gotten answered in a way that I understand. Like, how do you go from motion in my generator to electricity for my toaster? how does the energy go from spinny-magnet in the box outside to lightning in my walls? I don’t understand.
In: 87
Well, electric motors exist. They make electricity into movement. You make electromagnets that when powered push/pull on static field magnets, and set them up in a ring so the electromagnets activate in sequence to pull the magnetic parts around an axle.
Well it turns out the process also works in reverse. You can “run” an electromagnet in reverse – instead of inputting electricity and getting magnets to move as a result, you can “input” magnet movement, and get electricity out as a result.
When you move a magnet near metal, you create a current in that metal. Or, when you move metal through a magnetic field, you create a current. (This is the basis behind those sensors under the road tarmac that trigger traffic lights when a car shows up. A car is a big hunk of metal, and when it rolls over the magnetic coil buried under the tarmac, that movement causes a current in the coil, and that current is used as a sensor so the traffic light knows a car has just rolled up to the line.)
Latest Answers