Of course in a dynamo-electric generator the stronger the magnetic
field, the less the resistance of the conductor, and the faster it
is moved across the lines of force, that is to say, the more lines
it cuts in a second the stronger is the current produced.
Similarly in an electric motor, the stronger the current and
magnetic field the faster will the conductor move.
The most convenient motion to give the conductor in practice is
one of rotation, and hence the dynamo usually consists of a coil
or series of coils of insulated wire termed the "armature," which
is mounted on a spindle and rapidly rotated in a strong magnetic
field between the poles of powerful magnets. Currents are
generated in the coils, now in one direction then in another, as
they revolve or cross different parts of the field; and, by means
of a device termed a commutator, these currents can be collected
or sifted at will, and led away by wires to an electric lamp, an
accumulator, or an electric motor, as desired. The character of
the electricity is precisely the same as that generated in the
voltaic battery.
The commutator may only collect the currents as they are
generated, and supply what is called an alternating current, that
is to say, a current which alternates or changes its direction
several hundred times a second, or it may sift the currents as
they are produced and supply what is termed a continuous current,
that is, a current always in the same direction, like that of a
voltaic battery. Some machines are made to supply alternating
currents, others continuous currents. Either class of current will
do for electric lamps, but only continuous currents are used for
electo-plating, or, in general, for electric motors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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