Draw a labelled diagram of an electric motor. Explain its principle and working. What is the function of a split ring in an electric motor?

Principle:

An electric motor is a rotating device that converts electrical energy to mechanical energy working.

Working:

Current in the coil ABCD enters from the source battery through conducting brush X and flow back to the battery through brush Y. Notice that the current in the arm AB of the coil flows from A to B. In arm CD it flows from C to D that is opposite to the direction of current through arm AB on applying Fleming’s left hand rule for the direction of force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field. We find that the force acting on arm AB pushes it downwards while the force acting on arm CD pushes it upwards.

Thus the coil and the Axle O, mounted free to turn about an axis, rotate anti-clockwise at half rotation. Q makes contact with the brush X and P with brush Y. Therefore the current in the coil gets reversed and flows along the path DCBA. The reversal of current also reverses the direction of force acting on the two arms AB and CD. Thus the arm AB of the coil that was earlier pushed down, is now pushed up and the arm CD previously pushed up is pushed down. There is a continuous rotation of the coil and to the axle.

Split rings in electric motors acts as a commutator.