Electric generator

In electricity generation, a generatoris a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) into electrical power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas turbines, water turbines, internal combustion engines, wind turbines and even hand cranks. The first electromagnetic generator, the Faraday disk, was invented in 1831 by British scientist Michael Faraday. Generators provide nearly all of the power for electric power grids.

The reverse conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is done by an electric motor, and motors and generators have many similarities. Many motors can be mechanically driven to generate electricity; frequently they make acceptable manual generators.
 

• When electromagnetic induction was discovered, the method of generating alternating current was known. The early finished products were developed by Michael Faraday and Polit Pixi.
• In 1866, Werner von Siemens proposed the working principle of the generator, and an engineer from Siemens completed the first human alternator.
• In 1882, British electrician James Gordon built a large two-phase alternator. Lord Kelvin and Sebastian Ferranti developed early alternators with frequencies ranging from 100 Hz to 300 Hz.
• In 1891, Nikola Tesla obtained a patent for a ''high frequency'' (15,000 Hz) alternator.
• After 1891, multi-phase alternators were used to supply electric current. After that, the alternating current frequency of alternators was usually designed to be between 16 Hz and 100 Hz, and used with arc lamps, incandescent lamps or electric motors

When the magnetic field around the conductor changes, an induced current is generated in the conductor. Normally, a rotating magnet is called a rotor, and a fixed set of conductors wound in a coil on an iron core is called a stator. When it crosses the magnetic field, it generates current. A DC generator is a type of generator that converts mechanical energy into DC electricity.

• In 1866, Werner von Siemens and other engineers from Siemens invented the first DC generator.
• 1882: Edison Electric Light Company established the third power station in London, installed three 110-volt DC generators, which can supply power for 1,500 16-watt incandescent lamps.