Here’s a project for all of you. I would like you all to make a small electric motor or a small electric generator. You will find a lot of help on the Internet, including Youtube videos, on how to make small electric motors and generators of different kinds. I am not suggesting any one kind of design over another. Choose any design that you want to try making. Also feel free to experiment and tinker with the given design. You might come up with a simpler or more interesting design yourself.
Faraday’s Disk – the first electric generator
I would suggest Arvind Gupta’s website as one of the resources you might want to take a look at. See the short films under the title ‘ELECTRICITY EXPERIMENTS’ on this page: http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/films.html
We will use these models during our classes on electromagnetism. It will be easier for you to make these models right now during these holidays due to easier availability of resources at home. Do not forget to bring the models to school. It would also form a major part of the ‘internal assessment’ in your physics course. And before you go off on a tangent and spend your valuable time making a model which ‘looks’ neat and beautiful because I mentioned ‘internal assessment’, here’s something for you to think about:
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” — Steve Jobs
In case you are making a motor, try rotating something with your motor. If you are making a generator, try making it work using different sources of energy – water from the running tap, wind, etc. And yes, your generator should be able to at least light up an LED.
Physics for Class 10 
sir, i’m sorry i didn’t respond for so long. wasn’t busy, i don’t know why i didn’t. i’ve read all the chapters uptil now and noted my questions, shall ask u in school. i’ve decided to make the motor, but i had one question. will simplicity be better (like what you can do with less resources) or elaborateness work better ( as it seems more ‘complex’ that way). I’m asking with reference to marks, so please help me. and sir, try not to be ambiguous, like you know both are good and all. choose one cause i’ve got two designs uptil now. or should i do both?
your marks will not depend on the simplicity or complexity of the design. but i would prefer that you work with a simpler design and then tinker with the design and see what kind of changes you can make by changing different components of the motor, e.g. using aluminium wires instead of copper, changing the magnet, etc.
Ok the Arvind gupta models r to delicate will they be of any use or should we make those only as they will be good enough
no, arvind gupta’s models are not that flimsy. they can also be dismantled and put back together quite easily. but you feel free to look at other options and choose.
sir,,,will we be marked on this?is it compulsory as i have a lot of projects to finish …i know this also a subject which is there for me..but u have no time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!seriously with my economic,math,history, English ,geography projects……i know it is there for everyone so i am asking…sorry about the question…..
relax. you still have 7-8 days ahead of you. there is enough time varsha, even with ALL the subjects that you have. don’t worry you will be able to finish everything if you plan your work well.
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT?????????????can we do it in school…..no time at all…very busy…
NOOOOOO. Not in school. There will be other assignments to be done in school. You won’t have time here. And as I have mentioned in the post, getting the materials, etc. will also be easier at home than in school.
on the arvind gupta page there are a lot of different experiments on motors and generators , sp can we just choose one and do it?
yes
vaddi i guess it will be a fun assignment so u can sit with your bro or mom and do it they can help u
mehak..it sounds really interesting….the sad part is i don’t have time also i have no other option but to do it….i need my marks…and also can we just choose one from arvind guptas page and do it?please some one answer fast….
as heloise has said already, you need to make only one. but you will enjoy making it (and probably learn more as well) if you change your orientation a little bit and not do it only because you need your marks.
varsha we are supposed to choose only “one”! actually it depends how many ever you wanna make, but since you seem to be very busy, i don’t think you’ll be able to make more than one!
sir, is making a spool generator a good idea?
i don’t know what a spool generator means but if it is something that generates electric current without using any source of electric current (i.e. battery, etc.), it should be fine.
sir i’m sorry for the off-topic discussion, but i need to ask you whether we will be needing white kurta pyjamas for asthachal this term… besides the monsoon, i heard that we would be allowed to dress in coloured formal clothes for asthachal henceforth, so please do clarify. sir and if that rule isn’t applicable, could you also look into it 😀 please reply asap, leaving for a holiday
yes, abizar. you need not wear whites for astachal now.
Is a homopolar motor okay or is it too simple??
Should be fine.
Is the wind generator alright? Its in the list of experiments in the arvind gupta website
you mean wind-powered electrical generator? that should be fine.
Sir i cant seem to find neodymium magnets or insulated copper wire. Can i get them in school?
ok
Po can we try making a (mini) van Di graph generater in school as an experiment arun sir had explained how it works in seventh
you can try making one. it would require sustained effort though. it’s not something you can put together in 2 hours and it will start working. you will need to spend some time making one which can actually work.
but that is not what i meant by the electrical generator. van de graaf is an electrical charge collector/generator. what i have asked you all to make is an electrical current generator.
In school
Okay does anyone know where to buy a neodymium magnet??? If anyone does please reply to this post asap!! thanks!
I would think that any toy/activity/hobby shop will have neodymium magnets. they have become easily available nowadays.
aren’t neodymium magnets just normal strong magnets??
yes, they are quite strong. and they are easily available, if that’s what you mean by ‘normal’.
sir i cant find the neodymium magnet! 😦
does someone know where i can find these magnets in bombay??
you could try it online maybe…
ok sir this might be out of the box…but i am making a generator using potatoes,so is that fine?
i’m afraid you probably are making an electric cell, not a generator. a generator should be able to use mechanical energy (kinetic, usually) to produce electric current. an electric cell uses chemical energy to do that.
so that means that i cant go ahead with this
no, not for this project.
sir when will you be posting the answers to the worksheet on electric current?
today. certainly.
waiting…
call answered! 🙂
okay sir…..
i will make it , how small or big should it be?
size doesn’t matter. as i said earlier, it should produce enough current to light up a small LED.
can we use batteries like cells sorta thing…
for a motor, yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P50nXFOHCQ sir just check if this is fine, please?
this thing looks a bit nonsensical, i mean is it fine for a project?- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uanYxImJles
it’s nonsensical. you can try it out. and try to understand how it works.
sorry, but this is the last link..sir this was the spool generator i was talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P50nXFOHCQ
oh yes. this is a great simple design to try.
for a project? ok, thanks.
gud then…i finished mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
is this spiral motor too easy?
no. you can choose to make this one.
hi pk,
i was planning to make the wind generator(its on the arvind gupta site). i have got all the materials except the neodinum magnets. Electricity/ science shops only have bar or U magnets. I bought bar magnets but they dont fit inside the coil. i do have smaller magnets but they are too weak. is there any way i can get neodinum magnets in school? in the lab or perhaps it can be ordered? in that case, i’ll fit everything else and get it and fit the magnet part of it in school? do let me know. . .
we can order a neodymium magnet for you in the school if you have got other materials for the wind generator. that should be fine.
Thanks pk!
if its not possible, i’ll make a generator. . .
sorry, i meant motor.
sir can i make my motor at school because i will be needing the carpentry hut for it?
WILL THIS DO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w2f6RD1hT6Q this is the one i’m making..is it fine? and one more question, can i try making the spool generator in school later? (i’ll get all the equipments)
Pk, can you use have to make the generator, right from scratch with the coils and magnets all wound up manually, or can you dismantle gadgets and use their parts to do so?
was on a month long vacation, came back only a few days back. can i do some of the work in school ?
ok
Sir, can you please get a neodymium magnet for me in school too? 😦
please please. i can’t find an appropriate one here..the one i have is not suitable for the project.
ok
umm.. sir i know it’s late but is it alright to make a crank generator?
coz… i have already made one…
yes.
Sir, I am planning to make a no magnet motor after watching the arvind gupta video…but I don’t want to use a battery in my design….I know that a battery has two metals and an acid which carries out the reaction….As far as I could remember, Arun Sir had made us do an experiment in which we made a pile having copper and zinc plates placed alternately and put acid between the the plates……when connected the top and bottom of the pile with an LED,it would light up……the only problem is that the reaction would last for few minutes……There is a video on YouTube which tells about how to make a battery using bleaching powder, but I am afraid if it can last for long….if you find any battery replacement please let me know…..By the way can the school provide us with acid if we require it in our project
a generator uses motion to create electric current. the zinc-acid pile you are talking about is also a battery. so if you want to make a battery you can, in school and we can provide you with the acid and other things you might need. but for this project, please aim for a generator.
My aim is make a motor and then attach a LED bulb to it which will make it a generator…..if I am not wrong……by the way it becoming difficult for me to find the plates so, I might drop the idea of replacing a battery……I am not about the voltage and how long can it last for…..
and can replacing the battery make my design complicated?????
The term generator is really confusing me, could you create an engine or have wind blowing and simply attach a small dc motor and spin it backwards to create electricity or do you have to create the dc motor from scratch as well, …. Pls tell me you need not make the motor from scratch….
Also is it worth creating an engine as well to work the motor or is there just no marks for that at all…
Oh yes. You will get credit for the design of the engine as well.
No, Jai. Making an engine and using a motor will not do. you will have to construct the whole thing. from the scratch. no shortcuts here. you can, if you want, make the thing in school. it is already 28 may today. but if it’s possible, get the materials from home. it will be more difficult to arrange for things from school.
Do you have to make a electricity generator which uses motion, I have planned out otherwise,…
what do you mean? a generator converts motion to electric current. what else could it be like?
How about a thermoelectric generator ?
that was not what i had in mind for the project – keeping the syllabus in mind. but i will be open to the idea. we can discuss it when you are here.