Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello,
I need help with my science fair Project. I want to make a water powered electric generator, but I don't know how to do the generator. I made the following picture to attempt to illustrate my idea so far.



How do I get the electricity I generate from the generator to the motor?


Thanks!

Hi edbddaniel,
Welcome to the Ask an Expert forums. It looks like you have some very interesting ideas. From your diagram, It appears you have a closed system with no inflow or outflow of water. Is that right? This resembles certain designs that have been proposed as "perpetual motion machines". As intriguing as those are, they do not work. There has to be some input of energy from an external source (rather than the generator itself) to overcome the energy losses such as friction of the water against the sides of the container, and friction in other moving parts.

It is possible to use a closed flow system to generate energy if there is some external source of heat to drive the flow. Here is an example:
http://www.yourownpower.com/Power/#How%20it%20Works

Looking forward to hearing more about your project,
Chris

ok, even if it won't work, could you tell me how to get the electricity from the generator to the motor?

Here is an example of a generator, could you tell me what each part is, and what it does?

( hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/HBASE/magnetic/imgmag/acgen.gif )

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your question, but wires are typically used to direct electrical flow, for example from a generator to a motor.
Rather than me writing confusing descriptions of "the long skinny gray thing" etc, I think you'll be better off looking for well-annotated diagrams or talking with someone in person. You could try searching google images for "simple electrical generator" or "simple electrical motor". The basic components are similar. Maybe this figure will help:
http://www.library.yale.edu/NotaBene/nbx3/motor.htm
This page has a lot of good general information:
http://www.physclips.unsw.edu.au/jw/electricmotors.html
I hope that helps.
Chris

What is the circled part? Could you explain it please?



That would be really useful...

Those are slipping contacts. You can find more info by searching for "Slip rings" and "brushes".
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/HB ... ac.html#c3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slip_ring
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brush_(electric)
Do you have a hypothesis for your project?

No, I don't.

Nevermind, I am not doing this this year. Maybe next year.