An electric motor converts an electrical energy to mechanical energy.

It works on the principle of electro-magnetic induction.

Parts:

• coil
• two magnets
• split rings
• brushes
• axle
• battery

Why does it work?

Using Fleming’s left hand rule, we can work out the direction of the force. We know the direction of the current and the direction of the magnetic field lines. For armature AB, after applying this we know that the force is downwards. For armature CD, we know that the force is upwards.

However, as the coil rotates to 180 degrees, armatures AB and CD swap. Thus the direction of rotation reverses. In order to fix this and allow the coil to rotate the full 180 degrees, we use the split rings(also known as commutator).