Simple generator: electric generator for science fair Video

Full information at http://amasci.com/coilgen/ main project website,
also see the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) at http://bit.ly/oYU1RM
.

Build this DIY ultra-simple AC electric generator from magnets, wire, and cardboard. (And a big nail!) Light a small lightbulb, or flash a red LED.

This simple project demonstrates how electric generators work. All you need is a stack of strong ceramic magnets and a coil of very thin wire. See the website for complete parts list. Also see the section about debugging, and the FAQ at http://amasci.com/coilgen/generator_3.html#faq

Now if you want a more useful device, instead get a small DC motor. Use it as a generator, since it has much better magnetics design. All motors are generators. Figure out how to spin a motor's shaft, and you can make a small powerful generator.

.

See my links page for many generator projects on other websites, at http://amasci.com/coilgen/generator_4.html Also... figure out how to convert the cardboard generator into a motor!

.

Lots more stuff at SCIENCE HOBBYIST http://amasci.com/unew.html

.

Note: trolls/spammers blocked immediately, zero tolerance

Check out the main ...
Check out the main project website for complete instructions, partslist, & debugging hints.? This video isn't the main project, it's just for clarification.

Nope, this ...
Nope, this generator is too simple. It's easy to produce AC at extremely low voltage. A battery charger needs DC instead of AC, and about 5x higher voltage. A "shaker generator" could do it using a tube with supermagnets and a couple? thousand turns of wire.

Thanks just ...
Thanks just wondering because? going on holiday and 22 hour coach drive :(

no, this produces ...
no, this produces 1.5? V...

can you? use this ...
can you? use this to charge my iPod on the go "or something similar"

Does at 4:10? wire ...
Does at 4:10? wire touching anything inside? And where is the +, and where -, so I can use my voltmeter?

All the steps in ...
All the steps in the website article? Including the DEBUGGING? section? It says to spin it very fast in the dark. Don't just follow the video, since only the written coilgen article is complete.

FAKE! it doesnt ...
FAKE! it doesnt work. I have done all the? steps . but nothing happen!

Metals contain ...
Metals contain movable electric charges. All matter contains charges, but in most other materials the charges are trapped in the atoms and cannot flow around. But metals are different. The electrons of copper atoms always leave their atoms and "orbit" all around among all the atoms inside the metal. That's why metals are electrical? conductors: they are full of movable electricity. Plastic is insulating since its electricity is solid and cannot move. A generator is a charge pump.

is there any? ...
is there any? chance you can explain this simply

When you put the ...
When you put the copper wire inside @4:10, does it need to touch anything? Or are you just wrapping it around the outside of the box and using the two excess lengths to attach to your lightbulb? Where the wire goes just confused me. Also, how many magnents did you use? and how are they staying inside the box and not falling to the floor? Is that just the magnents holding themselves together?

this guy....... i ...
this guy....... i recommend him if? your doing science fair and your projects are about electricity this guy is AWESHUM

so will do the ...
so will do the cardboard version! *me* yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy cardboard i? was looking at this cuz im in the regionals for science fair

That's sick.? Good ...
That's sick.? Good job man

noob?
noob?

could this also ...
could this also work as a motor,? and vice versa?

With me id probably ...
With me id probably make it? over complex and it not work even though im still a kid...

> power a 60w bulb? ...
> power a 60w bulb? @priztorm Need human legs on a bicycle. Also carve a? generator from iron parts using a machine shop. Or go to Otherpower website for wind power DIY generator projects using supermagnets and steel disks (no machine shop needed.)

What would it take? ...
What would it take? to power a 60 watt bulb?

It really? works. ...
It really? works. Increadable

yo wer? can u buy ...
yo wer? can u buy the copper wires, are those 16 gauge copper wires? pls answer immidiately tom is my sciency fair due date T_T

good point, guess ...
good point, guess i did not? process that completely :P

but then you need a ...
but then you need a rotating? commutator assembly to make DC. (Diodes would work too, but only if you wound about 5X more wire.)

if? you use ...
if? you use capacitors you can get a more steady light

Can? I make a video ...
Can? I make a video response of the acrylic/neodymium generator I created?

I had a question ...
I had a question about the reply "@miguelgonzalez97 it's AC. A dc? generator would need commutator and brushes." ... Now I got my "degree" in electronics from a place you may remember from t.v. commercials I like to call the "Sally Struthers University of T.V and VCR repair" So excuse any ignorance on my behalf but couldn't you also use a bridge diode and capacitor to rectify and filter the ac to dc? Or am I missing something? would that be considered a? dc generator?

This was really ...
This was really useful, ta. Is it much harder to build a design that can store the electricity generated (would you have to convert? AC to DC first)? (please answer fast).

> how much is the ...
> how much is the ampere @neil8051 the value of electric current depends on the bulb. If no bulb is connected, then that's zero amps. If a special 1.5volt 20mA bulb is connected and the generator lights it to full brightness, then that's around 20mA or 0.02 amperes. Generators don't exactly produce current.? Instead they are a source of voltage. Then the light bulb is like a leakage-path which draws a current.

how do you make it ...
how do you make it with the plastic box? is there? a video showing how to?