How is Electricity generated?

Question

kainui · Answer

How technical do you want me to get, or do you just want a general answer, because this is a fairly general question.

anonymous · Answer

Ref: http://www.electricityforum.com/how-is-electricity-generated.html If you want to know How Is Electricity Generated, then the best way to see this is by moving a magnet around a conductor. Electricity can also be generated or by putting two different conductors into salt water, or by touching two different conductors together and shining light on them. The most common for is by using magnets, but there's even a backpack that uses the energy of a walking person to generate up to 7 watts of electricity, enough to power many devices simultaneously. useful link: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blelectric1.htm#How%20is%20Electricity%20Generated

kainui · Answer

I don't think you'll see much of anything if you run a magnet by a conductor unless you have a ridiculously strong magnet or a very sensitive ammeter connected to your conductor.

But yes, one of the ways a current is generated is by moving a magnet past a conductor, since a change in magnetic field creates an electric field, which in turn moves electrons through a conductor.

Another way might be to create an electric potential difference, AKA voltage, by supplying two ends of a conductor with a difference in electric charge. This creates an electric field that will also move electrons through until the electric charge equals itself out.

It's kind of technical, but if you consider how you might get a changing magnetic field or a difference in charge you might know how to get electricity from these ideas.

For example, a changing magnetic field can be created by a wheel with water running by it with a bunch of magnets attached to it. When the water runs over it, it spins the magnets past the metal and an electric field will be produced by alternating between magnets and no magnets on the spokes of the wheel.

Of course this is a pretty extreme simplification but hopefully it helps!