Motor Blog

Here is a picture of a typical battery powered motor. To make our motor, Will, Wyatt, and I used a piece of wood, a battery, magnets, paper clips, tape, a rubber band, and a coil of wire. We began by attaching the battery to the piece of wood with tape. We then formed hooks with paper clips, and attached them to the ends of the battery. We made the wire into a small loop with two tails in order to allow it to hang between the paper clips. We then placed the magnets on the battery.

reason for battery: supplies voltage and current
reason for coiled wire: provides a pathway for current to flow. Coil=thicker wire/ more wire= more possibility for current to flow, more power. 
reason for paper clips: connects wire to battery, completes the circuit
reason for magnet: attraction makes the loop of coil turn creating a magnetic field

Armature 
In order to allow our motor to function correctly, we had to scrape off one side of the coil. This let current flow throughout the circuit. We only scraped off one side because if we scraped all around, current would want to flow in both directions. We then attached the wire to the paper clip to allow the flow of current. 

Why does the motor turn? 
The magnetic field is the reason the motor is able to function. The force of the magnet is charged by the battery which is perpendicular to the motor. This creates force. The magnet causes a magnetic field, therefore charges move in one direction, causing the motor to rotate. It is able to turn because the force is in one direction. Again, we scraped off the sides of one end of the coil, because if force was going in both directions, the motor would not be able to function.