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MOTORS: A LOST ART

by Bob Perrin

Start ý A Few Words on Words ý The DC Motor ý Polyphase AC Motors ý Single-Phase AC Motors ý Winding Down ý Sources and PDF

WINDING DOWN

So there you have it, a brief introduction to motor technology. I hope this article inspires you to acquire one or more of the references listed at the end of this article and delve a little further into the fascinating topic of motors.

I do my best learning by doing. Reading books on a topic is great, but things really gel for me when I get my hands on something physical. I highly recommend going out and getting a half dozen motors and tearing them down.

Besides just being a fun thing to do, youýll see firsthand how motor construction is truly an art. Every time I look at one of the stators I have laying around my desk, Iým amazed at the ingenuity that went into its conception and fabrication.

Fifty years ago, the majority of electrical engineers could, if asked, speak coherently about motor construction and operation. They could discuss the various tradeoffs associated with motor design. Today, we find motors in everything from automobile mirrors to wristwatches, but when many of todayýs engineers are asked about how motors operate, they can only mumble a few incoherent words and try to quickly change the subject.

A technology as matured and ubiquitous as motor theory demands more than a passing nod from todayýs electrical engineers. After all, the world still expects the average engineer to be nothing less than a jack-of-all-trades.

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