Electric Currents Produce Magnetic Fields

Simple Electromagnet	Creation of Alternating Current Using Magnets

 

Hoover Dam: Generation of Electricity Water flows through large pipes inside the dam and turns a large wheel called a turbine.  The turbine turns a shaft which rotates a series of magnets past copper coils and a generator to produce electricity.  This converts the energy of falling water into mechanical energy to drive the generator.  The water’s force on the blades of the turbine turns a rotor – a series of magnets - which is the rotating portion of the generator where a magnetic field is created.  The stator is the stationary part of the generator made of coils of copper wire. Electricity is produced as the magnets of the rotors spin past the stationary wiring of the stator.  This concept was discovered by scientist Michael Faraday in 1831 when he found that electricity could be created by rotating magnets within copper coils.