The Motor Effect

Before discussing the motor effect it is important to gain an understanding in magnets and magnetic
field.
Magnets are materials normally with iron in them that produce a magnetic field. They attract other
pieces of iron bought close to them with a magnetic force.
The region around a magnet where a magnetic effect can be felt is called the magnetic field.
A magnet has two poles;
1. North seeking pole or North Pole
2. South seeking pole or south Pole
The magnetic field is strongest at its poles. The field around a magnet can be represented by lines
with arrows on them. The arrows show the direction of the lines of force. Each field line starts at the
North Pole and finishes at the South Pole.

Magnets affect a wire conducting electricity; this is because an electric current in a wire produces a
magnetic field. If a wire carrying a current is placed in a magnetic field of a magnet it will experience
a force due to the interaction between the magnetic field of the magnetic and the magnetic field of
the current in the wire.
This force the electric wire experiences is called the motor effect and only happens when the wire is
carrying electricity.
The direction of the lines of force around a wire carry a current can be determined using the Righthand Grip Rule. If you were to image gripping a wire carrying a current so that your right thumb
pointed in the same direction as the flow of electrical current then the fingers of your right hand curl
in the direction of the magnetic field lines.

Right Hand Grip Rule

Flemings Left Hand Rule

The direction of movement of a current carrying wire in a magnetic field can be determined using
Flemings Left Hand Rule.

By arranging your left hand as shown in the image above, the first finger points in the direction of the
magnetic field (from North to South).
The hand is then rotated until the second finger points in the direction of the current (remember
conventional current is from positive to negative).
The thumb then points in the direction of the movement of the wire.
The summary below aids in memorising the rule.
First Finger

Field (magnetic from North to South)

seCond Finger

Current (conventional current from +ive to ive)

thuMb

Movement of the wire

A Simple Electric Motor

An electrical motor is a device that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy. It works on the
principle of the interactions between the magnetic fields of a permanent magnet and the field
generated around a coil conducting electricity. The attractive and repulsive forces between the
magnet and the coil create rotational motion.
A simple electric motor consists of the following parts.
1. A permanent magnet
2. Armature or rotor
This consists of a thin copper wire coiled around an iron core, hence when electric current
flows it acts as an electromagnet. In the case of a simple motor this is a wire loop.
3. Commutator
A Commutator is a copper ring split in two halves. In a simple electric motor each half is
connected to the ends of the wire loop. In practise they are connected to the axle.
4. Brushes
The brushes connect the wire loop or armature to the power supply
5. Axle
In electric motors the commutator is attached to the axle. The axle transfers the rotational
motion.

6. Power supply (battery)

Improving a Motor
An electric motor can be made powerful by the following;

By increasing the number of turns that are wound on the coil. In the case of the wire loop in
the animation this would mean winding to form two loops.

By winding the electrical wire around a soft iron core so that the magnetic field is stronger.

By replacing the permanent magnet with a electromagnet which can gice a stronger
magnetic field.

By winding extras coils around the core. Similar to having two separate wire loops in the
animation above however this would mean splitting the commutator into 4 parts.

Fleming Left Hand rule and Fleming Right Hand rule

Under Basic Electrical
Whenever a current carrying conductor comes under a magnetic
field, there will be force acting on the conductor and on the other
hand, if a conductor is forcefully brought under a magnetic field,
there will be an induced current in that conductor. In both of the
phenomenons, there is a relation between magnetic field, current
and force. This relation is directionally determined by Fleming Left
Hand rule and Fleming Right Hand rule respectively.
'Directionally' means these rules do not show the magnitude but
show the direction of any of the three parameters (magnetic field,
current, force) if the direction of other two are known. Fleming Left
Hand rule is mainly applicable for electric motor and Fleming
Right Hand rule is mainly applicable for electric generator. In late
19th century, John Ambrose Fleming introduced both these rules and
as per his name, the rules are well known as Fleming left and
right hand rule.

Fleming Left Hand Rule

It is found that whenever an

current carrying conductor is placed inside a magnetic field, a force
acts on the conductor, in a direction perpendicular to both the
directions of the current and the magnetic field. In the figure it is
shown that, a portion of a conductor of length L placed vertically in a
uniform horizontal magnetic field strength H, produced by two
magnetic poles N and S. If i is the current flowing through this
conductor, the magnitude of the force acts on the conductor is,

F = BiL
Hold out your left hand with
forefinger, second finger and thumb at right angle to one another. If the fore finger
represents the direction of the field and the second finger that of the current, then
thumb gives the direction of the force.

While current flows through a conductor, one magnetic field is induced around it. This
can be imagined by considering numbers of closed magnetic lines of force around the
conductor. The direction of magnetic lines of force can be determined by Maxwell's
corkscrew rule or right-hand grip rule. As per these rules, the direction of the magnetic
lines of force (or flux lines) is clockwise if the current is flowing away from the
viewer, that is if the direction of current through the conductor is inward from the
reference plane as shown in the figure.

Now if a horizontal magnetic field is applied

externally to the conductor, these two magnetic fields i.e. field around the conductor
due to current through it and the externally applied field will interact with each other.
We observe in the picture, that the magnetic lines of force of external magnetic field
are from N to S pole that is from left to right. The magnetic lines of force of external
magnetic field and magnetic lines of force due to current in the conductor are in same
direction above the conductor, and they are in opposite direction below the conductor.
Hence there will be larger numbers of co-directional magnetic lines of force above the
conductor than that of below the conductor. Consequently, there will be a larger
concentration of magnetic lines of force in a small space above the conductor. As
magnetic lines of force are no longer straight lines, they are under tension like
stretched rubber bands. As a result, there will be a force which will tend to move the
conductor from more concentrated magnetic field to less concentrated magnetic field,

that is from present position to downwards. Now if you observe the direction of
current, force and magnetic field in the above explanation, you will find that the
directions

are

according

to

the

Fleming

left

hand

rule.

Fleming Right Hand Rule

As per Faraday's law of

electromagnetic induction, whenever a conductor moves inside a
magnetic field, there will be an induced current in it. If this
conductor gets forcefully moved inside the magnetic field, there will
be a relation between the direction of applied force, magnetic field

and the current. This relation among these three directions is

determined by Fleming Right Hand rule
This rule states "Hold out the right hand with the first finger, second finger and thumb
at right angle to each other. If forefinger represents the direction of the line of force,
the thumb points in the direction of motion or applied force, then second finger points
in the direction of the induced current.