What are AC Motors?
There are many different types and sizes of electric motors. Electric motors can be divided into two types: Alternating Current (AC) motors and Direct Current (DC) motors. An AC electric motor requires an alternating current, while a DC motor requires direct current. AC motors are further subdivided into single phase and three phase motors. Single phase AC electrical supply is what is typically supplied in a home. Three phase electrical power is commonly only available in a factory setting. The most common single phase AC motor is known as a universal motor. This is because this motor can also run with DC current. This type of motor is very inefficient but can be very inexpensively made. It is also used almost exclusively for small factional horse power AC motors. The other advantage this AC motor has is that the rotational speed of the motor can be easy changed. This type of AC motor is commonly found in mixers, hand drills, and any other application requiring variable speed and low c
There are two distinct types of AC motors, synchronous and induction. A synchronous motor consists of a series of three windings in the stator section with a simple rotating area. A current is passed through the coil, generating torque on the coil. Since the current is alternating, the motor will run smoothly only at the frequency of the sine wave. This allows for constant, unvarying speed from no load to full load with no slip. Induction motors are the more common of the two motor types. They use electric current to induce rotation in the coils rather than supplying the rotation directly. Induction motors use shorted wire loops on a rotating armature and obtain their torque from currents induced in these loops by the changing magnetic field produced in the field coils.
