2011-04-28, 01:21 PM
Oversimplified motor involving electricity and magnetism. Had to build a DC motor for physical science in highschool.
As for how exactly this motor works, I'm not entirely sure =/
EDIT: Okay, I looked into the properties of the neodymium magnet, and I think I know what's going on.
The whole entire setup is a complete circuit which carries charges from the positive end of the battery to the negative end. If you know the basic properties of electromagnetic forces, you'll know that currents have their own magnetic field. This field, when it interacts with the neodymium magnet, is the force that causes the copper wire to spin. It works much better when you have a coil around the magnetic core, as seen in commutators. In this case, the "coil" is just two quarter arcs at the bottom of the copper wire setup. This is why a neodymium magnet is required, and not some store-bought donut magnet.
As for how exactly this motor works, I'm not entirely sure =/
EDIT: Okay, I looked into the properties of the neodymium magnet, and I think I know what's going on.
The whole entire setup is a complete circuit which carries charges from the positive end of the battery to the negative end. If you know the basic properties of electromagnetic forces, you'll know that currents have their own magnetic field. This field, when it interacts with the neodymium magnet, is the force that causes the copper wire to spin. It works much better when you have a coil around the magnetic core, as seen in commutators. In this case, the "coil" is just two quarter arcs at the bottom of the copper wire setup. This is why a neodymium magnet is required, and not some store-bought donut magnet.