eli5 what goes on inside your phone when it vibrates

Question

eli5 what goes on inside your phone when it vibrates

In: 2217

Answer 1

You have a coil & a magnet. When you pulse electricity through the coil, the magnet moves back & forth, which generates vibrations. Headphones & speakers work in almost the exact same way to produce sound.

There are also some phones that use a small electric motor to spin an uneven weight (sort of like what happens when a load of clothes in the washing machine is unbalanced). This is the same method that’s commonly used in video game controllers, back massagers, and other things that vibrate.