Keeping Things Moving

An armature is a piece of metal that moves when the low-potential-difference circuit is switched on. Circuit breakers are used to cut off the current in a circuit if there is a sault and the current gets too high. This current flows through an iron switch and then through the coil of an electromagnet. The switch is held closed by a spring and if the current gets too high, the spring becomes strong enough to pull the switch open.

Wires move when they are in a magnetic field and there is a current flowing through it. We can predict the direction of the movement based on the direction of a current and the magnetic field, which always flows from north to south. We can change the direction of the movement by changing ONE of these. The change the force of the motor, we can either increase the force of the magnetic field or increase the number of turns on the coil.

A split ring commutator changes the direction of the current, and therefore the natural movement, this allows electricity to be generated. Carbon brushes keep the electrical contact…