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Electric Generator

Electrical Engineering

An electric generator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy for use in an external circuit, typically by rotating a shaft within a magnetic field. Its underlying principle, electromagnetic induction, was established by Michael Faraday in 1831, who showed that a varying magnetic field induces an electromotive force in a nearby conductor. Faraday built the first practical device demonstrating the effect, the Faraday disk, a copper disc rotating between the poles of a horseshoe magnet, which produced a small direct current and laid the foundation for every later generator design.

Facts
Patent or First-Use DateSourced to the subject's own account
1866-12-24 1
YearSourced to the subject's own account
1831 1
SignificanceSourced to the subject's own account
The dynamo was the first electrical generator capable of delivering power for industry, refined into a practical commercial device by Wheatstone, Siemens and Varley in the mid 1860s. 1
Connections

Associated With

Copper, Materials

Copper windings carry the induced current in electric generators.

Electrical Engineering, Fields

Field-to-technology association verified live; FROM end owned by fields section

In Field

Source Electric Generator (Wikipedia)

Invented By

Sources
1. Electric Generator (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • History section, Faraday disk generator paragraph, sentence 1
    The operating principle of electromagnetic generators was discovered in the years of 1831-1832 by Michael Faraday.
  • History section, dynamo paragraph, sentence 1
    The dynamo was the first electrical generator capable of delivering power for industry.
  • History section, modern dynamo paragraph, sentence 1
    Varley took out a patent on 24 December 1866, while Siemens and Wheatstone both announced their discoveries on 17 January 1867 by delivering papers at the Royal Society.
  • In Field: Electrical Engineering, Lead section
    In electricity generation, a generator, also called an electric generator, electrical generator, and electromagnetic generator is an electromechanical device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy for use in an external circuit.
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