Two Sides of the Same Coin: Fun with Motors and Generators

Since the late 1800’s, the harnessing of electricity had provided the foundation for the intense technological innovation which has completely transformed our society. Nearly all of our electricity generation is dependent on the basic principle of Faraday’s law, or how an electrical current can be created by a changing magnetic flux. As well, we often make use of this electrical energy through its conversion to mechanical motion through motors. The purpose of this workshop is to provide the attendees with a series of hands-on experiences which will enable them to help their students to discover the similarities and basic principles of how motors and generators work. This will include the construction of a motor/generator assembly and some simple experiments which will highlight the practical issues which arise in real engineering applications. In addition, the discussion of wind energy as a renewable option will be discussed. Each participant will leave with a kit which they can use as a template for putting this into practice in their own classrooms.

Workshop Attendee Notes

Workshop Attendee Answers

Micah Stickel’s love of physics began with the exceptional teachings of Mr. Stock and Ms. Ness at Humberside Collegiate Institute in the west end of Toronto. Since then he has gone on to study electrical and computer engineering at the University of Toronto, receiving his PhD degree in 2006. In 2007 he joined the faculty of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Toronto as a lecturer. He has taught the second-year Electric and Magnetic Fields course numerous times and strives to bring the engineering realities into the classroom through demonstrations and discussions of current engineering developments of electricity and magnetism.