Electric Motors

Every lab group responsible for building an electric motor. There are three types of motors we will explore, and each one has a video:

Wound-wire homopolar motors (1) -- These look the coolest. They are tricky to make, but are the easiest to modify.

Hanging magnet homopolar motors (2) -- These are probably the easiest to make, and move the fastest. They are not very easy to modify.

Alternating current motors (3) -- These are the most similar to motors in the world. They are tricky to build, but easy to modify.

Talk about it with your group, watch all three videos, and decide which one you are going to do. Tell me here what your first and second choices are (4). I will let you know which one you are building.

Depending on which one you are building, you will need to follow some instructions...

If you are building a wound-wire homopolar motor, you can use these instructions (5) and you will need to ask me for a printed copy of this template (6). You will need:

1. A battery
2. 10 inches or so of bare copper wire
3. 2 or 3 small neodymium disk magnets (the silver colored ones)
4. Needle nose pliers

If you are building a hanging magnet homopolar motor, you can use these instructions (7). You will need:

1. A battery
2. 4 inches or so of enameled (red) copper wire
3. A nail
4. 1 or 2 small neodymium disk magnets (the silver colored ones)
5. A small piece of sand paper

If you are building an alternating current motor, you can use these instructions (8) which are simple and less detailed or these instructions (9) which are more detailed, but much more complicated. You will need:

1. A battery
2. 2 paperclips
3. About 12 inches of enameled (red) copper wire
4. 1 small neodymium disc magnet (the silver colored ones) or two ceramic disc magnets (the black ones)
5. A small piece of sand paper
6. Some tape

When you have built your motor:

1. Go to Google Classroom (10) and submit a picture of it. I can take a picture of your motor if you do not have a smartphone with a camera.
2. You will also need to take a piece of paper and draw a picture of your motor.
3. Use an arrow on your drawing to point to the north pole of all of the permanent magnets in your motor. Label it "Permanent North"
4. Use an arrow on your drawing to draw the path an electron takes through the wire. Label it "electron path"
5. Where the electrons go in a circle, draw an arrow to point to the north pole of the electromagnet label it "electric north"
6. Answer the questions:
   1. Where does the permanent magnet push on the electromagnet?
   2. Where do they pull on each other?
   3. How does this make it turn?

Your deliverables at the end of the day are the pictures (both photographed and drawn) and the questions.