SIMPLE ELECTRIC MOTOR

Date: 2/4/2021

Name: Evan Mbise

Mrs. Zander

Science Fair 2021, 6th grade

Abstract

This engineering project is about the Simple Electric Motor. Energy comes in many forms. Electric

energy can be converted into useful mechanical energy, by machines called electric motors. Electric motors work

due to electromagnetic interactions: the interaction of current and a magnetic field. Examples of Electric Motors

are found in go -karts, or electric toothbrushes. The purpose of this project is to learn how to make a simple electric

motor using a D battery and the effect of the magnet on the coil. The hypothesis is the more the magnets, the faster

the coil will spin. This project was chosen out of curiosity of what makes up a Simple Electric Motor . The procedure

includes bending the paper clips, taping the paper clips to the ends of the battery, and wrapping the wire 10x to

make a coil. The D battery is placed between the two paper clips and a magnet is placed on top of the D battery to

cause the motion on the coil. When multiple magnets were used the coil did not spin, but when one magnet was used

the coil spun fast. The final analysis is that one magnet caused the coil to spin.

Introduction

A Simple Electric Motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into
mechanical energy. Electromagnetic interactions are described as the interaction of

current (the flow of electrons) in a magnetic field. The first simple electric motor was

demonstrated by Michael Faraday in 1821, London. Faraday was fascinated by the

experiment of Hans Ørsted, a Danish Physicist and Chemist who discovered

electromagnetism. The electric motor was constructed as a wire carrying a current rotating

around a fixed electromagnet. The current goes around the coil so that it points one direction

in one end of the loop and in the other direction at the other end of the loop. Electric motors

are important in today's modern day life as they are being used in computer printers, in

(both conventional and hybrid) cars like the Tesla, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, fax

machines, water pumps, manufacturing, subway systems, fans, and simple electric items like

an electric toothbrush or an electric blender.

Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and
electric current in a wire winding to generate force in the form of torque applied on the motor's

shaft. Electric motors can be powered by direct current (DC) sources, such as from batteries,

or rectifiers, or by alternating current (AC) sources, such as a power grid, inverters or

electrical generators.

An electric generator is mechanically similar to an electric motor, but its power flows in the

opposite direction, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. The electromagnetic

field pushes the coil away from the magnet. Since one side of the wire is insulated, when the

coil is given a push, the circuit breaks momentarily so the coil rotates continuously using its

momentum. When the circuit is complete, the magnetic field once

again repels the coil, so it keeps spinning. The motor can continue to spin until the battery is

dead. The effect of a magnet on a coil is that the current flows through the battery, magnet,

paper clips, and into the wire coil, creating an electromagnet. One face of the coil becomes a
north pole; the other a south pole. Just like how Hans Ørsted discovered the flow of electricity

with a compass needle. Ørsted brought a compass close to a live electrical wire, and observed

that the needle on the compass jumped and pointed to the wire.

The permanent magnet attracts its opposite pole on the coil and

repels its like pole, causing the coil to spin.

The simple electric motor is important, because one of the important applications of

electromagnetism is the electric motor. An electric motor converts electrical energy into

physical movement. Electric motors generate magnetic fields with electric current through a

coil. In this experiment the hypothesis is the more the magnets, the faster the coil will spin.

This was thought of with the idea that two magnets would be more powerful causing the coil

to spin much faster than one magnet. However, two experiments were performed, one with

two magnets and the other with one, to prove the hypothesis.
Materials
● 1. ALKALINE D battery

● 20in of Insulated 22G copper wire

● 2 jumbo metal paper clips

● 3cm square of fine grit sandpaper

● 11cm of electrical tape

● 1 Scissor

● 1 Marker

● 1 ruler

● 2 donut magnets. One with a radius of 1cm (with the Area of 3.14 sq cm) and another
with the radius of 1.25cm ( with a Area of 4.91 sq cm)

● Thermometer

● Multimeter
Methods

In order to make the Simple Electric motor first, bend the paper clips to make supports for the

wire, use electrical tape to tape the paper clips to the ends of the ALKALINE D battery, wrap

the wire 10x around a marker to make a coil, cut the wire leaving about 3cm of the wire on

each end, loop the ends around to make the coil hold its shape, sand the insulation completely

off one end of the wire, then sand only ½ the insulation off the other end of the wire, place the

coil into the paperclip supports, use the multimeter to make sure the D battery is fully charged,

and After that, make sure the coil can spin freely. If it doesn't spin easily, adjust the shape of

the wire and place the magnet on top of the Alkaline D battery, give it a push to get it started,
and watch it go!

Finally, use the tachometer to measure the speed of the coil ( RPM ).
Data

Tests Results Remarks

Measure the 1.62 VDc Fully charged battery

voltage of the
1. battery
2 magnets with the
area of 3.14 sq cm
and 4.91 sq cm A very mild spin of the
placed on top of the coil was detected by the Unsuccessful result
D battery tachometer;
6 RPM
2.

1 magnet with the

area of 4.91 sq cm 323 RPM rotation speed of the An average speed, but not as
was placed on top coil was detected on the fast as expected.
of the Alkaline D tachometer.
battery

3.
 Successful result
The rotation speed of
1 magnet with the 900RPM was detected on a
area of 3.14 sq cm, coil by the tachometer.
on top of the D
4. battery.
The coil spun faster
u
0

The coil overheated due to

over current. Eventually the
The coil heated up battery voltage dropped down
when left stationary to 0.1 VDc
5. on the setup. 52.7 degrees celsius

Results:

To get the results, three experiments were performed. as stated in the hypothesis the more the

magnets on the alkaline D battery the faster the coil would spin.
In the first experiment, two magnets were placed on a D battery. In this experiment the expected
motion was not achieved. There was a very mild motion with a speed of 6 RPM as detected by
the digital tachometer. The second experiment was performed, the result was a speed of 323RPM
as read on the measurement. One magnet with an area of 3.14 sq cm was placed on top of the
Alkaline D battery. The coil spun with a speed of 900RPM as detected by a digital tachometer. A
better speed was observed, and was measured by the digital tachometer. This proved that the
result did not support the hypothesis. In this particular experiment therefore, more magnets were
not needed for the coil to spin faster. Generally, different motors of different speeds could be
made depending on the usage.

Discussion:

The hypothesis in this experiment was the more the magnet the faster the coil will spin. This

hypothesis was not supported by the experiment. The magnet is supposed to help the coil to spin
when

placed on the D battery, with the coil hanging above the magnet through the two jumbo paper

clips when positioned well. The first two experiments did not have as much speed as the third

experiment, which proved to be successful. This result proved that the magnet with the area of

3.14 was needed for this experiment, because the speed depends on the number of the magnets

poles.

A new knowledge was gained during this experiment. One could use different materials to create

the same simple electric motor. The needles could be used in place of the jumbo paper clips.
Also an Energizer, Duracell, and Kodak D Batteries could be used to make a simple electric

motor.

Simple electric motor using needles and clay, Instead of 2 jumbo paper clips.

Needles could be a better choice in place of 2 jumbo paper clips, because of the ready made loop,

which helps keep the coil in place and won't bend. Clay could also be a useful tool to help keep

the D battery from rolling.

Conclusion

Electric motors work due to electromagnetic interactions: the interaction of current (the flow of

electrons) and a magnetic field. Therefore the magnet has an effect on the coil. The simple motor

uses a coil that is a temporary electromagnet. This coil gets the force to help create torque from

the electrical current supplied by the battery. The donut magnet used in the motor is a permanent

magnet, which means it has a north and a south pole that are permanently in place. The forces of

magnetism and electricity work in concert to make the coil of the motor spin.
The purpose of this experiment was achieved. A simple electric motor was built and worked

successfully. Simple electric motors are very useful in everyday life as everyone needs them

to run their daily life. In all commercial, residential, and Industrial applications.

Personal Reflection

During this experiment it was observed that, when the coil was left stationary on the circuit, it

overheated. The recommendation is an invention of a switching on and off mechanism,

because once moving, the coil will continue to spin, until the battery is dead. The most

exciting part in this experiment was seeing the coil rotating. The hardest part was managing

my time which was very frustrating. Overall, I loved this experiment and I learned a lot.
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