Useful Links

Simple Electric Motors:

• Chapter 2: Electromagnetism – version of Beakman’s motor by Simon Quellen Field.
• How Stuff Works – A great site for information on how electric motors work.
• Homopolar motor – Build this interesting (but unfortunately not very useful) model in 30 seconds.
• Simple Electrostatic Motor – Build a high voltage motor from plastic pop bottles.

Reed Switches, Transistors and Optical Sensors:

• Reed Switch – Information from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.
• Transistors – Information from "Explain that Stuff!".
• How do Transistors Work? – Simple explanation of the principles of transistor operation.
• Opto Sensors – Description and application notes from Aleph.

Soldering Tips and How to Use a Multimeter:

• How To Solder – Very detailed instructions on soldering.
• How to Solder Correctly – Soldering Guide from "Curious Inventor".
• Help on Soldering – Another page with information on basic soldering techniques.
• Using a Multimeter – Information on how to use a multimeter to measure the current, voltage, and resistance.

Motor Experiments

• Motor Torque – Explanation from Wikipedia.
• Motor Calculations – Torque-speed curves construction requiring special equipment.
• Solenoid Calculator – Calculate magnetic field and inductance of your electromagnet.
• Frequency Measuring – Information on how to measure frequency of a noisy signal.
• Solar Recharging – Simple solar power circuit with rechargeable battery backup.
• RF-500TB-12560 – Technical data sheet and power curves.
• RF-520C-17410 – Technical data sheet and power curves.

Books:

• Electrical Engineering: Concepts and Applications by S.A. Reza Zekavat – wonderful text book for non-electrical engineering majors taking the introduction to electrical engineering course. It has easy to understand section on electrical motors with advanced calculations. We are proud that our schematic diagrams for the Hall Effect motor were used in this book to explain brushless motors operation (p. 621) – Pearson, 2011 (International Edition) / Prentice Hall, 2012.
• Mims, Forrest M. Getting Started in Electronics. Radio Shack, Pub. 62-5003, 1998.
• Mims, Forrest M. Engineer’s Mini-Notebook: Optoelectronics Circuits. Radio Shack, Pub. 62-5012, 1998.
• Mims, Forrest M. Engineer’s Mini-Notebook: Magnet and Magnet Sensor Projects. Radio Shack, Pub. 62-5020, 1998.
• Werninck, E.H. Electric Motor Handbook. London; New York: McGraw-Hill, 1978.