Do you know how a generator works?
Electric generators are very essential to modern human life. Most generators generate electricity with a turbine (shown in the figure above) of some type. Various methods are used to spin the turbines; a majority of power plants burn coal, and others use nuclear fission, natural wind, or water. However once the turbine is spun, these different types of power plants all share the same principle when generating electricity from the spinning turbine. Which of the following devices also uses the same principle as the turbine-driven electric generator?
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1 solution
An electric generator works on the principle of electromagnetic induction. As the turbine rotates, it undergoes a change in magnetic flux linkage and as a result, an electromotive force/voltage is induced across it.
A voltage converter, also known as a transformer, consists of two coils, a primary coil and a secondary coil. The current produced at the electric generator(which is alternating) is transmitted to the primary coil of the transformer which sets up a magnetic field around it. The magnetic field lines pass through the secondary coil, causing it to undergo a change in magnetic flux linkage and as a result, an electromotive force is induced across the secondary coil. The alternating nature of the current in the primary coil prevents the induced electromotive force in the secondary coil from disappearing.
The primary and secondary coils consist of a different number of turns. The voltage is increased if the number of turns in the secondary coil is greater than that in the primary coil and is decreased if the number of turns in the secondary coil is less than that in the primary. The factor by which the voltage is increased or decreased is equal to the ratio of the number of turns in the primary coil to that in the secondary coil.