What is Generator: Definition and 1000 Discussions

In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) into electrical power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas turbines, water turbines, internal combustion engines, wind turbines and even hand cranks. The first electromagnetic generator, the Faraday disk, was invented in 1831 by British scientist Michael Faraday. Generators provide nearly all of the power for electric power grids.
The reverse conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is done by an electric motor, and motors and generators have many similarities. Many motors can be mechanically driven to generate electricity; frequently they make acceptable manual generators.

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  1. S

    Liquid rocket gas generator question

    I am building a liquid fueled rocket engine driven gas generator. I plan to use gasoline for fuel and oxygen gas at a rate of .022lb/sec and O2 at .055lb/sec The chamber is 2.15 in long 1.15 in id with a .238 nozzle. The chamber pressure should be 300 psi with a thrust of 20 pounds. I calculate...
  2. C

    Calculating Wind Turbine RPM from Generator Voltage Fluctuations

    Hello, I am trying to build a SIMULINK model in Matlab in order to determine the RPM of a wind turbine. Can someone please tell me how I can obtain the RPM of a wind turbine from the voltage fluctuations of a generator? Any good sites in the subject are also welcome. Thanks in advance.
  3. D

    Does Z*(n) always have a generator?

    Hey this question is going to sound really basic and dumb but I'm new to abstract algebra and not very good at this stuff. When I am talking about Z*(n), to be clear, I mean the multiplicative group of integers mod n, or the way I'm always thinking about it, the units of Z(n). (I'm not sure...
  4. J

    Connect 3phase generator to purely resistive load

    Hi. Most grateful for your suggestions on the following. My generator is a Stamford/Newage 125 kva, 1500 r.p.m., 174 Amps, 415/240 Volts rating and power factor is 0.8. The load comprises 36 heating elements, each element rated at 6Amps/ 240 Volts (1500 Watts). I have divided the elements into 3...
  5. P

    Computer brush fan as dc generator

    Computer brush fan as dc generator Sir, I am using renewable soℝurces like wind for my project.. I need to supply 1.5 to 2 v dc to my amplifier circuit and then to load... I am using computer brush fan as source ...it just gave output upto 2.5v in ideal state when i connected to multimeter...
  6. A

    The working of an electric motor and generator

    I have a very silly question . I know how an electric motor and generator work; the changing magnetic flux and current flow causes the coil to rotate etc. and it generates mechanical or electrical energy. M question is how does turning of the coil generate mechanical energy from electrical...
  7. T

    Electromagnetic Generator Coil Number Help

    Hello, I am building a generator for a project in my physics class. I have lots of magnetic wire and 6 VERY strong neodymium magnets, their area isn't overly large (I'd say about 1.5x1.5 inches). How many coils would be best for me to make for the stator? I am making a circular spinning disk...
  8. Z

    Create a DB15 Circuit Schematic | Schematic Generator

    I have to make a terminal block from a DB15 connection. I'd like to have a neat looking schematic for it. I don't need to design a PCB, but just make a schematic for a custom circuit. Does anybody know of any software that you can build a schematic and then save it as a PDF or something?
  9. T

    Solve Physics Essay on Wave Power Plants with IB Course

    Hello PF, I'm new here but I found you while googling around :> The forum seems great and has large activity, the only thing I miss is a chat function :p Anyways, I came here for some help regarding my physics essay, I'm in my second IB year (if you're familiar with this course) and need some...
  10. T

    Power output of a simple generator

    How do I convert the RPMs of a simple turbine (e. g. a windmill) into the power it generates? Let's say that I want to know if a single windmill of a certain size can power a refrigerator. Assume that I already know how long the blades have to be to produce the RPMs, and I know the energy...
  11. dexterdev

    Designing an AM Generator Circuit with BF494 & IFT

    Hi guys, I have a circuit for AM generation using BF494 (beta = 160) and and an IFT (455 KHz) etc. The problem is that I don't know how we arrive at the resistor and capacitor values in this circuit. Can anyone help me withe design of this circuit. Vcc = 12 V. I am attaching the...
  12. G

    Generator connected to an infinite bus bar

    Hi. I am supposed to explain using phasor diagram how change in excitation current affects power factor and active power of the generator. I have a few different values for excitation current, real power and power factor. Basically, increasing excitation current causes decrease in power factor...
  13. A

    The generator of time translation

    It is not hard to show that for QM what takes the wave function from t->t+Δt is the exponential of the hamiltonian. Yet for some mysterious reason my book decides to note the Hamiltonian as the generator of time translation rather than the exponential of it. What is the reason for this?
  14. P

    Calculating the output impedance of a function generator

    Hi everyone. I'm doing an experiment where I measure the capacitance of a capacitor. However I want to make sure that the output impedance of the function generator is low (to get accurate results). My circuit is attached. How do I calculate the impedance from the information provided? Help is...
  15. J

    Creating a Generator in Orbit: Where Am I Going Wrong?

    I had a thought. Without friction, the conductor in between the magnet would spin indefinitely in orbit (free of gravity). Tell me where I am going wrong
  16. R

    What Generators Can Run on 12 kgm Torque and Their Current Output?

    My project produces 12 kgm torque so,I need a list of Generator which runs on 12 kgm torque and how much Current it produces... Please advise
  17. S

    Can't have high voltage function generator. What about low voltage Tesla coil?

    According to many knowledgeable people on the internet, an affordable "high" voltage function generator does not exist. I would have liked to have had electrodes operating at >50v with frequencies up to 15 Mhz but it seems such a function generator is out of my reach. So I want to know if a...
  18. dexterdev

    Please check if this circuit can act as AM generator (for lab demo)

    Hi PF, I have a transistor circuit with me with IFT . Please see that if this circuit can be used for AM generation. Also please suggest the design procedure and working of circuit. Please point out any errors in the circuit. I don't know if I have to supply separate carrier signal(I...
  19. A

    Portable Generator Remake Help

    Hello everyone, I am new to this forum and this is my first post. I have an old generator that I have been working on. It is a rotating-armature 3-phase generator with a commutator. I tore everything off of the shaft because there was a short somewhere and I planned to remake the generator...
  20. N

    Cockcroft-walton generator, How to increase voltage?

    Hey guys, I have a question concerning CW generator which might be a bit stupid: How can we increase the voltage by using an AC source, capacitors and diodes ? Capacitors is used to store charge, diode to block current flowing the "wrong way", since its an AC current, capacitors will charge...
  21. T

    DC Shunt Generator: Armature Current, Terminal Voltage & Efficiency

    Homework Statement A shunt generator has an armature resistance of 0.8Ω, a field winding resistance of 120Ω and a mechanical loss of 115W. The load resistance of 8.5Ω is connected to the output terminals of the generator. An external mover rotates the shaft of the generator at a speed of...
  22. N

    How to Build a Home-Made Piezoelectric Generator for Under $100?

    With a budget of less than $100, does anyone have an idea on how to make a cheap piezoelectric generator using materials found at home? (aluminum foil, wire, battery, and a silicon swim cap maybe?) I plan to modify this generator to then integrate it inside a bike tire so that whenever I ride...
  23. P

    Possibility of a Mechanical Generator

    Like the title says is it possible to build a generator which will make around 5 watts of power for an hour? or even 2.5 watts in 30 minutes without needing constant human interaction like a hand cranked generator? I have been looking at things like the grandfather clock mechanism, hanging a...
  24. D

    How to express Jump Process in terms of the generator (rate matrix) A

    Hi Guys I have problem to express the jump process as following ways. Please let me know your ideas~! Thank you so much. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let (Xt)t≥0 be an irreducible continuous-time jump process on a nite state space...
  25. T

    Measuring jitter of pulse generator

    I have pulse generator that produces negative Gaussian pulses with fwhm~0.3ns. It is driven by the falling edge of a regular square wave from a function generator. I want to make some kind of measurement on an oscilloscope of the jitter of the pulse by comparing the output from the function...
  26. GreenAce92

    Is it possible to build a catch all electormagnetic wave spectrum generator?

    I had "posited" or proposed this idea to a professor of mine about building a device which could capture all forms of electromagnetic radiation with varying sized charged particles and a solution that was conductive. Another option is a type of electromagnetic fabric which is basically...
  27. L

    Generator from a power plant delivering electric power

    Homework Statement a generator of a large power plant delivers an electric power of 130mW at 22 kv AC. for transmission, this power is stepped up to 500kv by a transformer. what is the rms curret delivered by the generator? what is the rms current in the trnasmission line? by what factor...
  28. R

    Calculating Phase Current and Power Factor in a Y Connected Generator

    Homework Statement A Y connected, 400V (line), 100KVA rated, stand alone generator is operating at 80kW at rated current with a lagging power factor and rated terminal voltage. The synchronous reactance is 2Ω. Draw the per phase equivalent circuit and calculate: (i) The Phase Current (Iph)...
  29. P

    Kg-meter required for 1 MWH generator

    Dear Friends, I need some details to run 1 MW Generator. I found that 3600 Mega Joules/hour (3.6 Giga Joules/hour) required to run 1 MW Generator for 1 hour i.e 1 MWH. 3600 Mega Joules/hour = 102,000 Kg-m/sec. I want to know that Can we run 1 MW Generator (1500 rpm) for 1 hour to supply...
  30. L

    Reduced load in a turbine generator

    Homework Statement A turbine generator is delivering a 20MW load at 50Hz, to a local load.; it is not connected to the grid. The load suddenly drops to 15 MW, and the governor starts to open the steam valve after 0.5s. Calculate the frequency to which the generated voltage rises, before the...
  31. B

    Magnetic Generator Power Rating

    Hi, I am very new to this, so if my questions sound a bit stupid please point me in the right direction. I want to build my own 2.5 kW magnetic generator, but would like to understand a bit more how this works. Please see attached picture. I will be using the 24 magnet / 18 coil...
  32. O

    Questions on encoding and combinatorics for an equation generator web app

    (I apologize for the following lack of clarity, I know next to nothing. Links would be cool if the answer would take to long, I simply don't know how to even google these questions ) Question 1, non decimal numbers: I have a set of parameters I'd like to encode. Each parameter is in the form...
  33. R

    Engineering Thermodynamics Question about a generator and turbine as a system

    Hey guys, sAn industrial process discharges 200,000 cubic ft/min of gaseous combustion products at 400 F and 1 atm. As shown in the figure, a proposed system for utilizing the combustion products combines a heat-recovery steam generator with a turbine. At steady state, heat transfer from the...
  34. L

    The meaning of the addition of the spin generator to the Lorentz generators

    When constructing the Lie algebra of the Lorentz Transformation, the references usually start with an infinitesimal proper-orthochronous transformation, and then find the infinitesimal generators. Let's call the set of these generators L. after finding L, the references usually compute the...
  35. B

    Choosing the Right Electric Generator for Your Living Room in the USA

    I live in the USA and was thinking about getting an Electric Generator just for my Livng Room. So it could power my T.V. my DVD Player and my Lamp. Now I know they have Electric Generators that have Battery Power some are Hand Cranked. I just need to know some things first about how...
  36. E

    Event generator and detector simulation softwares

    I'm looking for some event generator and detector simulation software. While I was searching, I found a lot of event generator software like PYTHIA, HERWIG, etc. But I was having difficulties in finding a software that will create a detector simulation. If you could tell me which event generator...
  37. P

    Synchronous Generator. Power engineering question.

    Homework Statement Consider following: a three-phase synchronous generator which is under excited and drives a load with the power factor of 0.9 . U = 380 V (Main supply voltage) Ia = 75 A Xd = 3 Ω / phase Find the excited voltage E and the load angle δ. Homework Equations Under...
  38. F

    When do we get peak voltage in a 3-phase generator?

    Think I am having a brainfart here, so I need a tad bit of help. Sorry, imageshack rotated the image for some reason: http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/5629/img1380as.jpg (http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/5629/img1380as.jpg ) I can't really understand anymore when do we get the peak...
  39. M

    Max EMF in a Model AC Generator Coil

    Homework Statement In a model ac generator, a 500 turn rectangular coil, 8.0 cm by 20 cm, rotates at 120 rev/min in a uniform magnetic field of 0.60 T. (a) What is the maximum emf induced in the coil? (b) What is the instantaneous value of the emf in the coil at t = (∏/32)s? Assume that...
  40. I

    Wiring Generator: Connect 3 Phase Wild AC

    I have two wind turbines that I am trying to wire up for power generation. They are three phase wild ac. I have a charge controller setup with dump resistor but I want to know if I can take the wires and connect each of the three wires to their counter part from the other generator and then...
  41. D

    Question about generator of cyclic group

    Say we have a cyclic group G, and a generator a in G. This means [a] = G. We know the order of an element a, is the order of the group it generates, [a], and also this is the smallest integer s such that as=e, where e is the identity element. In this case, [a]=G, so s is just the order of G...
  42. W

    DC Motor Generator: Understanding Voltage and Current | FAQs

    Ok, I'm new to electronics and have some pretty simple questions that I can't seem to find answers to elsewhere. Let's say I have a DC motor that I want to use as a generator with the following specifications: 130 VDC 17 A 5950 RPM I know that in order to generate 130 Volts, that would...
  43. S

    Build a Home-Made Generator: Get Answers Here

    hey i want to create a simple working generator that can be used to produce electricity so that i can operate a small fan and a bulb. power produced should preferably be ac in nature but dc can also be made to work. i just wanted to know how much powerful and what size of a magnet is required...
  44. P

    Question about Van De Graaf generator

    Homework Statement I have a sentence in my textbook that reads: Because the "breakdown" electric field in air is about 3 X 106 V/m, a sphere 1.00m in radius can be raised to a maximum potential of 3 X 106 V And now the problem states: The metallic sphere on top of a large van de Graaf...
  45. A

    Sizing Wind Turbine Generator - 8,000 Nm's - Help Needed!

    I am attempting to size a wind turbine generator where the torque available is 8,000 Nm's. Can anyone save me doing the calculations? Regards AV8TUR.
  46. P

    Simple Generator - Calculating N Loops

    Simple Generator - Calculating "N" Loops Homework Statement A simple generator is used to generate a peak output voltage of 26.0 V . The square armature consists of windings that are 6.3 cm on a side and rotates in a field of 0.440T at a rate of 60.0 rev/s. How many loops of wire should be...
  47. dbmorpher

    Non-Steam Based Magnetic Generator?

    Hi I'm dbmorpher, This is my first post here and I know about physics as much as I would like too but I hope to learn. I could not find which topic to post this in, but this seemed most relavent Today I was talking to a priest I know who used to be a neuclear physicist, I asked him if there...
  48. U

    Brushed DC Electric Motor Used as a Generator

    I was wondering whether there was any literature on brushed DC motors used as a generator or whether you know anything of the sort? I know that DC motors behave differently when used as a generator instead of a motor. However I have not been able to find anything about it so I was wondering...
  49. S

    If you had $1000 to build a generator

    ...build a generator that uses renewable energy, what type of energy would you invest in?
  50. M

    Generator of Rotations and commutation relationships

    Suppose we have [J_i,J_j] = \sum_k \epsilon_{ijk} J_k and [L_i,L_j] = \sum_k \epsilon_{ijk} L_k 1st question, I am right in thinking that J represents Eingavalues for spin 1/2 particles... next... Computing the commutation relations, I find that \sum_k \epsilon_{ijk} (J_K + L_K - L_k -...
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