Motor Blog

Motor Blog:

There are a few key parts to the creation of the motor made in class; a battery, a coil of wire, a paperclip, and a magnet. The battery provides the current allowing the motor to function. It uses electrical energy to become mechanical energy. The coil of the wire or the motor loop carries the current. The coil of the wire feels the force causing torque. [A current carrying wire feels a force in a magnetic field and force can cause torque]. The paperclip completes the circuit; it carries the current to the wire (which is a part of the motor loop).  The magnet provides the magnetic field.

A motor is a current carrying wire that feels a force in a magnetic field. The more wire and the stronger the magnet, the stronger the force. This force comes from the motor loop deflecting the magnetic field. The coil of the wire has been shaved on one side on both ends so that the current in the coil of the wire flips the direction with each half turn in a continuous direction creating a motor.

You could potentially put small wheels on either side of the motor loop and the simple motor I made could be used as a miniature car. It could be a new type of mouse car project, where you create a miniature car to show your understanding of multiple physics concepts such as torque and magnetism. The motor would function identically to the paragraph described above. I would use more wire and a stronger magnet however, so that the car could experience a greater force therefore move at a faster speed.

To the right is a picture of a simple electric motor similar to the one I made in class. It has the labeled parts as well as the direction of the current.