Electric generator is a device or machines that covert the mechanical energy into electrical energy. It’s based on the principal of electromagnetic induction that is scientific law, which was discovered by British scientist Michael Faraday and American scientist Joseph Henry in 1831.
According to this scientific principle an electric conductor such as copper wire moving through a magnetic field, electric current will flow through the conductor. The moving wire’s mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. Faraday and Henry found that when a magnet is moved in a coil of wire, electric current is generated.
According to Faraday’s law of induction a moving magnetic field will cause electrons to move. Generators create electron movement in the copper wire coils contained within by moving them through a magnetic field.
Faraday was the one who built the first electromagnetic generator “Faraday disc”; it was a simple copper disc rotating between the poles of a horseshoe magnet. That generator produced a small DC voltage and large amounts of current that was inefficient, but that was good start for future generators.
Generator magnets pressures up the electrons to push them and create a flow or current of electricity. The current is measured in amps or the number of electrons movement. The pressure that pushes the electrons is called voltage and is measured in volts.
Basically a mechanical force creates a generator that turns a conductive wire or bar within a magnetic field. For spinning the conductive object force can be gained by moving water, steam, wind, gas engine or hand cranked levers. T
he electricity then flows in to electric motor or other electric powered device that reserves the process and the electricity makes it move. Small generators create a magnetic field with permanent magnets while larger generators create magnetic field with set of metal coils with electric current flowing through them, in larger generators electromagnets are used.
There are so many types of generators and each generator produce electricity with same basic method that is spinning the conductor through a magnetic field or magnet through a conductor.
Today there are so many types of generators such as Magnethydrodynamic generators creates electric power from hot gases moving through a magnetic field. Before 1960 vehicles use DC generators with electromechanical regulators but now they had been replaced with alternators, which are lot cheaper to recharge the batteries. Alternator is a type of a generator, which creates a magnetic field that rotates and passes through coils to create an electric current. While engine generators are the combination of electrical generators and engines, which are used in piston engines or gas turbines. These types generators can be small portable gas powered units to large turbines.
In hydroelectric power plants falling water is used to turn turbine that provide the mechanical energy to turn the generator and create electricity. Then through transmission lines electricity is delivered to homes and industries.
In some sailing boats water or wind powered generators are use to charge the batteries through the use of small propellers, wind turbine or impeller.
There are tiny small type generators also which are used in bicycle lights, radios and flashlights.
