In 1831 Michael Faraday in the United Kingdom and Joseph Henry in the United States demonstrated each their own way, but at the same time, the possibility of transforming mechanical energy into electrical energy bc-54065-24-50 . Although various forms of energy (mechanical, thermal, chemical, etc.) can be converted into electricity, the term “electric generator” stands out in industry only for machines that convert from mechanical to electrical energy. According to the characteristics of the electric current that they will produce, the generators can be of direct current (dynamos) and alternating (alternators), but the principle of the magnetic induction has diverse applications in electric motors and in the majority of electric machines.
The two ends of the armature of an alternating current generator are connected to conductive rings, which are attached to the carbon brushes. The armature rotates and the current flows counterclockwise. The ring brush drives the chain out of the armature, which allows a lamp to light up and the ring to return the current to the armature. When the armature rotates parallel to the magnetic field, there is no current generation. A fraction of seconds later, the armature rotates again parallel to the magnetic field, and the current reverses its direction.