Does a generator make electricity

Answer 1

A Generator consists of wiring wound around a rotating armature that is spinning between magnets that produce a magnetic field. This produces electric current by exciting the free radical electrons in the atoms that make up the wire, forcing them to move in one direction. It is identical in design to a DC motor.

As a matter of fact, aircraft have a starter/generators that act as electric motors that turns the jet's engine to start them running. After the jet engine starts, it in turn rotates the starter/generator so it acts like an electric generator to produce electricity for the aircraft. Likewise, modern diesel train engines use what is called a Regenerative Braking System that incorporates generators into the process of braking, thus converting momentum into usable electricity.

Answer 2

In actual fact electricity is not created in the usual sense of the term. It is, as the name of the device used implies, generated. That is, in a sense the electricity is already there. It just needs something to 'get it moving'. What does this is a magnetic field, usually arising from magnets, interacting in a varying action with an electrical conductor. This is usually achieved by having a coil of wire to rotate around the magnet and so cutting through its magnetic field. This produces a force that tends to drive electrical particles present in the coil. This is what electricity is. It is the motion of sub-atomic particles called electrons inside a conducting material. These electrons move in response to the application of a potential difference we call voltage and it is this movement of electrons we call electricity. The energy of these moving electrons is what actually powers electrical devices and it is the number of electrons moving in a given period of time we call current. A generator therefore simply acts as a device to apply an electro-motive force that gives the existing electrons a voltage difference to induce the flow of current. An analogy might be a waterfall. The water can be blocked up and will perform no useful work. But release the dam and allow the water to fall through a height. That height is a gravitational potential difference. The energy difference between the top of the fall and the bottom can be used by the falling water to turn a wheel or some other work. So the water is like the electricity, it was always there but needed a potential to flow and hence do work.

Answer 3

The generator is what actually produces electricity. A turbine is used to turn the generator. A turbine is able to take high pressure, high temperature steam moving through it, and extract energy to cause the turbine to rotate. This is attached to the generator, which generates electricity as it rotates.

Answer 4

Generators produce electricity via electromagnetic induction.

Answer 5

An energy source to turn it.

(water wheel, steam turbine, gas engine, etc.)

Answer 6

Yes. A generator does make electricity when there is no electricity.