Electric Motors

An electric motor converts electrical energy into kinetic energy (rotational motion). It works by using the motor effect — a current-carrying coil in a magnetic field experiences a force that makes it rotate. This lesson covers the DC motor and its components. It maps to AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy (8464) specification section 6.7.2.

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The Simple DC Motor

A simple DC (direct current) motor consists of:

graph TD
    subgraph "DC Motor Components"
        A["Rectangular coil of wire"] --- B["Permanent magnets (N and S poles)"]
        B --- C["Split-ring commutator"]
        C --- D["Carbon brushes"]
        D --- E["DC power supply"]
    end

Component	Function
Rectangular coil	Carries the current in the magnetic field; experiences the motor effect force
Permanent magnets	Provide the external magnetic field
Split-ring commutator	Two half-rings that reverse the current direction every half turn
Carbon brushes	Maintain electrical contact between the external circuit and the spinning commutator
DC power supply	Provides the current

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How the DC Motor Works

Step-by-Step