PHY 212 Laboratory for 3/16/04



Building a Motor

This week, we'll do a version of Saturday Morning with Mr. Science.

Each group will construct a working motor. You will be supplied with:

Preparation:

You may use anything else you wish, but you may need to bring any items not listed above. You may wish to explore the internet to get some ideas and/or plans. There are plans for a stripped down motor (from the Exploratorium). But you should search for other plans. I highly recommend the Google search engine at http://www.google.com/. The purpose of this lab is not to mindlessly follow one set of instructions, but rather to understand how a DC motor works and to design/construct a motor from this understanding.

Report/Grade

There will no formal lab writeup. Points will be awarded as follows:

DescriptionPoints Awarded
Sustained and unassisted rotation for 5 seconds9 -10 pts
Visible evidence of any unassisted rotation7 - 8 pts
Something that looks unmistakably like a motor5 - 6 pts
Something that looks somewhat like a motor3 - 4 pts
Something 1 - 2 pts