Understanding How Generators Work

In order to understand the mechanics of how generators work, it is important for us to find out the elements found inside it in addition as the basic rule surrounding its operations. According to British scientist Michael Faraday, an object or material passing by a magnetic field is capable of generating electric current. Generators are made from copper materials in addition as a magnet which is responsible for creating the magnetic field.

Initially, generators produce electricity by attaching a hand crank or turbine which initiates its movement. The former is responsible for powering residential generators while the latter is required by the generators that run hydroelectric plants. Magnets found inside the generator produce a magnetic field which triggers the electric current in the conductor each time it passes by. The consistent movement of the conductor generates a steady stream of electricity.

It is worth noting that a generator does not produce electrical energy but instead harnesses the mechanical energy supplied to it by the movement of electrical charges found in the wire. The electric charges makes up the output energy in the form of electricity. The rule of how generators work can be likened to a water pump which triggers the flow of water but does not produce the water flowing by it.

Using the example of the water pump in explaining how generators work, the technology pushes electrons instead of water. The water pump pushes a certain number of water molecules and applies pressure on these molecules. In the same way, the magnet in the generator pushes a certain number of electrons applying pressure to these electrons.

Although the rule behind how generators works is comparatively similar in all varieties of generators, the processes used in powering up the generator using its electrical output may have slight variations from one system to the other. Portable generators can be used to run few appliances during a strength outage in addition as in construction sites to strength drills, saws, and paint sprayers.

The occurrence of electromagnetic induction is used to explain the rule of how generators works. The theory discovered by Michael Faraday in 1831 states that when a conductor passes by a magnetic field, the voltage is induced in the conductor. The mechanism responsible for the mechanical energy being produced is the turbine. In small generators, the main source of mechanical energy is the internal combustion engine.When the output AC current is produced, a percentage of it flows into field wire to produce a magnetic field.