17.3 Electric motors and generators Permanent magnets and electromagnets work together to make electric motors and generators. The secret is in the ability of an electromagnet to reverse its north and south poles.

17.3 Electric motors Around the edge of a disk are several magnets, their alternating north and south poles facing out.

17.3 Electric motors To make the disk spin, you bring a permanent magnet close to its edge. The free magnet attracts one of the magnets in the disk and repels the next one. The disk is a “rotor” because it rotates.

17.3 Electric motors In a working electric motor, an electromagnet replaces the magnet you reversed with your fingers. The electromagnet switches its poles to make the rotor keep turning.

17.3 Electric motors As the rotor spins, a commutator reverses the direction of the current in the electromagnet.

17.3 Electric motors Motors have three parts: A rotor with magnets that alternate. An electromagnet. A commutator that switches the direction of current to keep the rotor spinning. 2

17.3 Electromagnetic induction Motors transform electrical energy into mechanical energy. Electric generators do the opposite. They transform mechanical energy into electrical energy. The process of using a moving magnet to create electric current is called electromagnetic induction.

17.3 Electromagnetic induction A moving magnet produces a current in a coil of wire.

17.3 Generating electricity A generator converts mechanical energy into electrical energy using the law of induction. As long as the disk is spinning, there is a changing magnetic field through the coil and electric current is created.