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How Alternators Work Collin Sanderson

Alternators are devices which use rotational energy and direct current to create
alternating electrical current. We will go over some of the basics of electricity and magnetism in
order to understand how an alternator works.
Electricity and magnetism are highly interrelated. A magnetic field is where a magnetic
force can act on an object such as an electron, much like gravity acting on you to keep you on the
ground. Moving electrical charges create a magnetic field around them, and at the same time,
moving or changing magnetic fields can cause electric charges to move. We can use a moving
magnetic field to push electrons through a wire to generate usable electricity. One of the easiest
ways to create a moving magnetic field is to spin a bar magnet near a coil of wire, which we
have experimentally confirmed (Figure 1). The magnetic field of a bar magnet points out from
the north pole of the magnet and wraps around and back into the south pole. The magnet rotating
near the coil will put a magnetic field on the wire which rotates and inverts direction as the
magnet rotates. So as the magnet spins, the magnetic field on the wire oscillates direction, up and
down. This pushes the charges in the wire back and forth, creating the movement of electricity,
which we measured by a sensor connected to the computer. The movement of these charges is
called electric current. We call the electricity coming out a wall outlet alternating current,
because its direction is oscillating back and forth rapidly just like the wire described.
The direction of the current in a coil of wire can be quickly determined by a hand trick
called the right hand rule. If you make a thumbs up sign with your right hand, your thumb
represents the direction of the magnetic field on the coil (up) and your curled fingers represent
the direction of the current created in the coil of wire (counterclockwise). For example, in Figure
1, the magnetic field acting on the coil of wire is pointing downward, so by making a thumbs
down sign with the right hand, we can determine that a current will be created in the wire coil
going clockwise as shown. The direction of this current then flips the other direction when the
magnet itself is upside down and magnetic field on the coil is pointing up.
An alternator functions similarly to a magnet spinning next to a coil of wire. But since
electric current creates a magnetic field of its own, we can do an interesting trick where we
replace the bar magnet with tightly wound cylinders of wire called solenoids (Figure 2). These
solenoids are then powered by direct current (one-way) which turns them into electromagnets,
having a strong magnetic field running through them and wrapping around from north pole to
south pole, exactly like a bar magnet (Figure 2). Solenoids are used because the magnetic field
generated by current through a single loop of wire is very weak, while lots of wire loops combine
to create a much stronger magnetic field. By attaching many of these solenoids to a wheel like in
Figure 3, we can create a wheel with alternating north and south poles as though we had many
bar magnets attached to it. We then stick this wheel of electromagnets into a housing with lots of
additional wiring around it (See LearnEngineering.org page in references, pictures could not be
included without permission). If the alternator is in a vehicle, then the spinning of the engine
turns the wheel of solenoids around inside this housing. The solenoids, with their alternating
north and south poles, act just like the spinning bar magnet in Figure 1, which create a rapidly
alternating magnetic field on the neighboring loops of wire. This induces a rapidly oscillating
current in the neighboring loops of wire (alternating current) which is then used to power the
electrical systems of the vehicle or whatever the alternator is being used for.
The advantage of using solenoids instead of bar magnets is that the strength of the
magnetic field created by the powered solenoids can be altered by changing the amount of direct
current powering them. Also, by placing many solenoids in a ring instead of just a few, we dont
have to turn the ring nearly as fast to get a rapidly alternating current.
How Alternators Work Collin Sanderson

Current

Figure 1. Spinning Bar Magnet near a Coil of Wire, inducing alternating


current in the coil. Adapted from Electronics-Tutorials.ws.

Figure 2. A solenoid; a tightly wrapped coil of Figure 3. Alternator rotor wheel, with many
wire. Direction of current in yellow, direction of solenoids attached to it. This rotor spins freely inside
magnetic field in turquoise. Similar to a bar of the alternator housing. Current in yellow,
magnet. magnetic field and poles in turquoise, rotation in red.

References

Electromagnetic Induction. Retrieved October 26, 2017, from http://www.electronics-


tutorials.ws/electromagnetism/electromagnetic-induction.html
(Figure 1 adapted from Electronics-Tutorials.ws)

How does an Alternator work? Retrieved October 26, 2017, from


http://www.learnengineering.org/2014/04/working-of-alternator.html

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