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Photo Gallery Silicon Zoo Pharmaceuticals Chip Shots ... Movie Gallery Generators and Motors Basic Magnetic Field Magnets are pieces of metal that have the ability to attract other metals. Every magnet has two poles: a north and a south. Much like electrical charges, two similar magnetic poles repel each other; while opposite magnetic poles attract each other. Magnets have a continuous force around them that is known as a magnetic field. This field enables them to attract other metals. Figure 1 illustrates this force using bar and horseshoe magnets. The shape of the magnet dictates the path the lines of force will take. Notice that the force in Figure 1 is made up of several lines traveling in a specific direction. It can be concluded that the lines travel from the magnet's north pole to its south. These lines of force are often called the magnetic flux. If the bar magnet is now bent to form a horseshoe magnet, the north and south pole are now across from each other. Notice in the horseshoe magnet how the lines of force are now straight, and that they travel from the north pole to the south. It will be revealed how generators and motors use these lines of force to generate electricity, as well as mechanical motion. Magnetic Fields Around Conductors When a current flows through a conductor, a magnetic field surrounds the conductor. As current flow increases, so does the number of lines of force in the magnetic field (Figure 2). | |
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