Physics · Ch 4 — Electromagnetic Induction and Alternating Current
Introduction
Introduction
An AC generator (alternator) is an energy-conversion device that converts the mechanical energy used to rotate a coil, or alternatively a field magnet, into electrical energy. Alternators are the source of large-scale electrical power supplied for use in homes and industries essentially everywhere, and a real commercial alternator's principal parts are its stator (the stationary outer part, carrying the armature winding), its rotor (the rotating inner part, carrying the field winding), a pair of slip rings mounted on the rotor's shaft to maintain electrical contact with the spinning field winding, and a brush box housing the stationary carbon brushes that press against those slip rings to feed in the DC excitation current. The rest of section 4.5 dev …
What this figure shows. A cutaway view of a complete alternator identifies its four principal external parts: the 'Stator', the stationary outer housing that carries the armature winding; the 'Rotor', the rotating inner part that carries the field winding and turns inside the stator; the 'Slip rings', a pair of continuous conducting rings mounted on the rotor's shaft that maintain electrical contact with the rotating field winding; and the 'Brush box', housing the stationary carbon brushes that press against and slide over the slip rings to feed DC excitation current into the spinning field winding. The figure gives the physical, real-machine picture that the more schematic loop-and-magnet diagrams used later in the …