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Homopolargenerator
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

AhomopolargeneratorisaDCelectricalgeneratorcomprisingan
electricallyconductivediscorcylinderrotatinginaplane
perpendiculartoauniformstaticmagneticfield.Apotential
differenceiscreatedbetweenthecenterofthediscandtherim(or
endsofthecylinder)withanelectricalpolaritythatdependsonthe
directionofrotationandtheorientationofthefield.Itisalsoknown
asaunipolargenerator,acyclicgenerator,diskdynamo,or
Faradaydisc.Thevoltageistypicallylow,ontheorderofafew
voltsinthecaseofsmalldemonstrationmodels,butlargeresearch
generatorscanproducehundredsofvolts,andsomesystemshave
multiplegeneratorsinseriestoproduceanevenlargervoltage.[1] Faradaydisk,thefirsthomopolar
Theyareunusualinthattheycansourcetremendouselectric generator
current,somemorethanamillionamperes,becausethehomopolar
generatorcanbemadetohaveverylowinternalresistance.

Contents

1 TheFaradaydisc

2 Homopolargeneratordevelopment

3 Descriptionandoperation

3.1 Disktypegenerator

3.2 Drumtypegenerator

4 Astrophysicalunipolarinductors

5 Physics

6 Seealso

7 References

7.1 Generalreferences

7.2 Furtherreading

8 Externallinks

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TheFaradaydisc
ThefirsthomopolargeneratorwasdevelopedbyMichaelFaraday
duringhisexperimentsin1831.ItisfrequentlycalledtheFaraday
discorFaradaywheelinhishonor.Itwasthebeginningofmodern
dynamosthatis,electricalgeneratorswhichoperateusinga
magneticfield.Itwasveryinefficientandwasnotusedasa
practicalpowersource,butitshowedthepossibilityofgenerating
electricpowerusingmagnetism,andledthewayforcommutated
directcurrentdynamosandthenalternatingcurrentalternators.

TheFaradaydiscwasprimarilyinefficientduetocounterflowsof
current.Whilecurrentflowwasinduceddirectlyunderneaththe
magnet,thecurrentwouldcirculatebackwardsinregionsoutside Faradaydisc
theinfluenceofthemagneticfield.Thiscounterflowlimitsthe
poweroutputtothepickupwires,andinduceswasteheatingofthe
copperdisc.Laterhomopolargeneratorswouldsolvethisproblembyusinganarrayofmagnetsarranged
aroundthediscperimetertomaintainasteadyfieldaroundthecircumference,andeliminateareaswhere
counterflowcouldoccur.

Homopolargeneratordevelopment
LongaftertheoriginalFaradaydischadbeenabandonedasa
practicalgenerator,amodifiedversioncombiningthemagnetand
discinasinglerotatingpart(therotor)wasdeveloped.Sometimes
thenamehomopolargeneratorisreservedforthisconfiguration.
Oneoftheearliestpatentsonthegeneraltypeofhomopolar
generatorswasattainedbyA.F.Delafield,U.S.Patent278,516
(https://www.google.com/patents/US278516).Otherearlypatents
forhomopolargeneratorswereawardedtoS.Z.DeFerrantiandC.
Batchelorseparately.NikolaTeslawasinterestedintheFaraday
discandconductedworkwithhomopolargenerators.[2]He
TheremainsoftheANU500MJ
eventuallypatentedanimprovedversionofthedeviceandhisUS
generator
patent(http://www.google.com/patents/about?
id=MvdbAAAAEBAJ&dq=406968)("DynamoElectricMachine")
describesanarrangementoftwoparalleldiscswithseparate,parallelshafts,joinedlikepulleysbya
metallicbelt.Eachdischadafieldthatwastheoppositeoftheother,sothattheflowofcurrentwasfrom
theoneshafttothediscedge,acrossthebelttotheotherdiscedgeandtothesecondshaft.Thiswouldhave
greatlyreducedthefrictionallossescausedbyslidingcontactsbyallowingbothelectricalpickupsto
interfacewiththeshaftsofthetwodisksratherthanattheshaftandahighspeedrim.Later,patentswere
awardedtoC.P.SteinmetzandE.Thomsonfortheirworkwithhomopolargenerators.TheForbes
dynamo,developedbytheScottishelectricalengineerGeorgeForbes,wasinwidespreaduseduringthe
beginningofthe20thcentury.MuchofthedevelopmentdoneinhomopolargeneratorswaspatentedbyJ.
E.NoeggerathandR.Eickemeyer.

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Homopolargeneratorsunderwentarenaissanceinthe1950sasasourceofpulsedpowerstorage.These
devicesusedheavydisksasaformofflywheeltostoremechanicalenergythatcouldbequicklydumped
intoanexperimentalapparatus.AnearlyexampleofthissortofdevicewasbuiltbySirMarkOliphantat
theResearchSchoolofPhysicalSciencesandEngineering,AustralianNationalUniversity.Itstoredupto
500megajoulesofenergy[3]andwasusedasanextremelyhighcurrentsourceforsynchrotron
experimentationfrom1962untilitwasdisassembledin1986.Oliphant'sconstructionwascapableof
supplyingcurrentsofupto2megaamperes(MA).

SimilardevicesofevenlargersizearedesignedandbuiltbyParkerKineticDesigns(formerlyOIME
Research&Development)ofAustin.Theyhaveproduceddevicesforavarietyofroles,frompowering
railgunstolinearmotors(forspacelaunches)toavarietyofweaponsdesigns.Industrialdesignsof10MJ
wereintroducedforavarietyofroles,includingelectricalwelding.[4]

Descriptionandoperation
Disktypegenerator

Thisdeviceconsistsofaconductingflywheelrotatinginamagnetic
fieldwithoneelectricalcontactneartheaxisandtheothernearthe
periphery.Ithasbeenusedforgeneratingveryhighcurrentsatlow
voltagesinapplicationssuchaswelding,electrolysisandrailgun
research.Inpulsedenergyapplications,theangularmomentumof
therotorisusedtostoreenergyoveralongperiodandthenrelease
itinashorttime.

Incontrasttoothertypesofgenerators,theoutputvoltagenever
changespolarity.ThechargeseparationresultsfromtheLorentz
forceonthefreechargesinthedisk.Themotionisazimuthaland BasicFaradaydiscgenerator
thefieldisaxial,sotheelectromotiveforceisradial.Theelectrical
contactsareusuallymadethrougha"brush"orslipring,whichresultsinlargelossesatthelowvoltages
generated.Someoftheselossescanbereducedbyusingmercuryorothereasilyliquifiedmetaloralloy
(gallium,NaK)asthe"brush",toprovideessentiallyuninterruptedelectricalcontact.

Arecentsuggestedmodificationistouseaplasmacontactsuppliedbyanegativeresistanceneonstreamer
touchingtheedgeofthediskordrum,usingspecializedlowworkfunctioncarboninverticalstrips.This
wouldhavetheadvantageofverylowresistancewithinacurrentrangepossiblyuptothousandsofAmps
withouttheliquidmetalcontact.

Ifthemagneticfieldisprovidedbyapermanentmagnet,thegeneratorworksregardlessofwhetherthe
magnetisfixedtothestatororrotateswiththedisc.BeforethediscoveryoftheelectronandtheLorentz
forcelaw,thephenomenonwasinexplicableandwasknownastheFaradayparadox.

Drumtypegenerator

Adrumtypehomopolargeneratorhasamagneticfield(B)thatradiatesradiallyfromthecenterofthedrum
andinducesvoltage(V)downthelengthofthedrum.Aconductingdrumspunfromaboveinthefieldofa
"loudspeaker"typeofmagnetthathasonepoleinthecenterofthedrumandtheotherpolesurroundingthe
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drumcoulduseconductingballbearingsatthetopandbottomofthedrumtopickupthegeneratedcurrent.

Astrophysicalunipolarinductors
Unipolarinductorsoccurinastrophysicswhereaconductorrotatesthroughamagneticfield,forexample,
themovementofthehighlyconductiveplasmainacosmicbody'sionospherethroughitsmagneticfield.In
theirbook,CosmicalElectrodynamics,HannesAlfvnandCarlGunneFlthammarwrite:

"Sincecosmicalcloudsofionizedgasaregenerallymagnetized,theirmotionproducesinduced
electricfields[..]Forexamplethemotionofthemagnetizedinterplanetaryplasmaproduceselectric
fieldsthatareessentialfortheproductionofauroraandmagneticstorms"[..]
"..therotationofaconductorinamagneticfieldproducesanelectricfieldinthesystematrest.This
phenomenoniswellknownfromlaboratoryexperimentsandisusuallycalled'homopolar'or
'unipolar'induction.[5]

UnipolarinductorshavebeenassociatedwiththeauroraeonUranus,[6]binarystars,[7][8]black
holes,[9][10][11]galaxies,[12]theJupiterIosystem,[13][14]theMoon,[15][16]theSolarWind,[17]sunspots,[18][19]
andintheVenusianmagnetictail.[20]

Physics
Likealldynamos,theFaradaydiscconvertskineticenergytoelectricalenergy.Thismachinecannotbe
analysedusingFaraday'sownlawofelectromagneticinduction.Thislaw(initsmodernform)statesthatan
electriccurrentisinducedinaclosedelectricalcircuitwhenthemagneticfluxenclosedbythecircuit
changes.InFaraday'slaw,EMFisthetimederivativeofflux,soaDCEMFisonlypossibleifthemagnetic
fluxisgettinguniformlylargerandlargerperpetually.Butinthegenerator,themagneticfieldisconstant
andthediscstaysinthesameposition,sonomagneticfluxesaregrowinglargerandlarger.Sothis
examplecannotbeanalyzeddirectlywithFaraday'slaw.

TheLorentzforcelawismoreeasilyusedtoexplainthemachine'sbehaviour.Thislaw,formulatedthirty
yearsafterFaraday'sdeath,statesthattheforceonanelectronisproportionaltothecrossproductofits
velocityandthemagneticfluxvector.Ingeometricalterms,thismeansthattheforceisatrightanglesto
boththevelocity(azimuthal)andthemagneticflux(axial),whichisthereforeinaradialdirection.The
radialmovementoftheelectronsinthediscproducesachargeseparationbetweenthecenterofthediscand
itsrim,andifthecircuitiscompletedanelectriccurrentwillbeproduced.[21]

Seealso
Barlow'swheel
Electricgenerator
Electricmotor
Homopolarmotor
Faradayparadox
Faraday'slawofinduction

References
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1. Losty,H.H.W&Lewis,D.L.(1973)HomopolarMachines.PhilosophicalTransactionsfortheRoyalSocietyof
London.SeriesA,MathematicalandPhysicalSciences.275(1248),6975
2. NikolaTesla,"NotesonaUnipolarDynamo(http://www.andrijar.com/teslahom/index.html)".TheElectrical
Engineer,N.Y.,Sept.2,1891.(Alsoavailableattesla.hu,Article18910902
(http://www.tesla.hu/tesla/articles/18910902/index.htm))
3. J.W.Blamey,P.O.Carden,L.U.Hibbard,E.K.Inall,R.A.MarshallandSirMarkOliphant,'Thelarge
homopolargeneratoratCanberra:initialtests',Nature,195(1962),pp.113114.
4. ThomasValone,"TheHomopolarHandbook"(http://books.google.com/books?id=8cs7Zb5gF8C&pg=PA43),
IntegrityResearchInstitute,1994,pg.45
5. HannesAlfvnandCarlGunneFlthammar,CosmicalElectrodynamics(1963)2ndEdition,OxfordUniversity
Press.Seesec.1.3.1.Inducedelectricfieldinuniformlymovingmatter.
6. Hill,T.W.Dessler,A.J.Rassbach,M.E.,"AuroraonUranusAFaradaydiscdynamomechanism
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1983P%26SS...31.1187H)"(1983)PlanetaryandSpaceScience(ISSN0032
0633),vol.31,Oct.1983,p.11871198
7. HannesAlfvn,"Surl'originedelaradiationcosmique(http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k31562/f1180.table)"
(Ontheoriginofcosmicradiation)"ComptesRendus,204,pp.11801181(1937)
8. Hakala,Pasietal.,"SpinupinRXJ0806+15:theshortestperiodbinary
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003MNRAS.343L..10H)"(2003)MonthlyNoticeoftheRoyalAstronomical
Society,Volume343,Issue1,pp.L10L14
9. Lovelace,R.V.E."DynamoModelofDoubleRadioSources(http://www.astro.cornell.edu/us
rus/pdf/dinamo1976.pdf/1976Nature262,649)"
10. Burns,M.L.Lovelace,R.V.E.,"Theoryofelectronpositronshowersindoubleradiosources
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1982ApJ...262...87B)"(1982)AstrophysicalJournal,Part1,vol.262,Nov.1,
1982,p.8799
11. Shatskii,A.A.,"UnipolarInductionofaMagnetizedAccretionDiskaroundaBlackHole
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003AstL...29..153S)",(2003)AstronomyLetters,vol.29,p.153157
12. PerCarlqvist,"CosmicelectriccurrentsandthegeneralizedBennettrelation
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1988Ap%26SS.144...73C)"(1988)AstrophysicsandSpaceScience(ISSN0004
640X),vol.144,no.12,May1988,pp.7384.
13. Goldreich,P.LyndenBell,D.,"Io,ajovianunipolarinductor
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1969ApJ...156...59G)"(1969)Astrophys.J.,vol.156,pp.5978(1969).
14. Strobel,DarrellF.etal.,"HubbleSpaceTelescopeSpaceTelescopeImagingSpectrographSearchforan
AtmosphereonCallisto:AJovianUnipolarInductor(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2002ApJ...581L..51S)"
(2002)TheAstrophysicalJournal,Volume581,Issue1,pp.L51L54
15. "Sonett,C.P.Colburn,D.S.,"EstablishmentofaLunarUnipolarGeneratorandAssociatedShockandWake
bytheSolarWind(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1967Natur.216..340S)"(1967)Nature,vol.216,340343.
16. Schwartz,K.Sonett,C.P.Colburn,D.S.,"UnipolarInductionintheMoonandaLunarLimbShock
Mechanism(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1969Moon....1....7S)"inTheMoon,Vol.1,p.7
17. Srnka,L.J.,"Sheathlimitedunipolarinductioninthesolarwind
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1975Ap%26SS..36..177S)"(1975)AstrophysicsandSpaceScience',vol.36,Aug.
1975,pp.177204.
18. Yang,HaiShou,"AforcefreefieldtheoryofsolarflaresI.Unipolarsunspots
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1981ChA%26A...5...77Y)"ChineseAstronomyandAstrophysics,Volume5,Issue
1,pp.7783.
19. Osherovich,V.A.Garcia,H.A.,"Electriccurrentinaunipolarsunspotwithanuntwistedfield
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1990GeoRL..17.2273O)"(1990)GeophysicalResearchLetters(ISSN00948276),
vol.17,Nov.1990,pp.22732276.
20. Eroshenko,E.G.,"UnipolarinductioneffectsintheVenusianmagnetictail
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1979CosRe..17R..93E)"(1979)KosmicheskieIssledovaniia,vol.17,Jan.Feb.
1979,pp.9310
21. ElectromagneticFieldTheory(http://www.plasma.uu.se/CED/Book/EMFT_Book.pdf),2nded.byBoThid,
DepartmentofPhysicsandAstronomy,UppsalaUniversity,Sweden

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Generalreferences

DonLancaster,"Shatteringthehomopolarmyths(http://www.tinaja.com/glib/muse117.pdf)".Tech
Musings,October,1997.(PDF)
DonLancaster,"UnderstandingFaraday'sDisk(http://www.tinaja.com/glib/muse121.pdf)".Tech
Musings,October,1997.(PDF)
JohnDavidJackson,ClassicalElectrodynamics,Wiley,3rded.1998,ISBN047130932X
ArthurI.Miller,"UnipolarInduction:ACaseStudyoftheInteractionbetweenScienceand
Technology,"AnnalsofScience,Volume38,pp.155189(1981).
OlivierDarrigol,ElectrodynamicsfromAmperetoEinstein,OxfordUniversityPress,2000,ISBN0
198505949
TrevorOphelandJohnJenkin,(1996)Fireinthebelly
(http://wwwrsphysse.anu.edu.au/admin/php/fire_in_the_belly/Fire_in_the_Belly01.pdf):thefirst50
yearsofthepioneerschoolattheANUCanberra:ResearchSchoolofPhysicalSciencesand
Engineering,AustralianNationalUniversity.ISBN0858000482.(PDF)
ThomasValone,TheHomopolarHandbook:ADefinitiveGuidetoFaradayDiskandNMachine
Technologies.Washington,DC,U.S.A.:IntegrityResearchInstitute,2001.ISBN0964107015

Furtherreading

RichardA.MarshallandWilliamF.Weldon,"ParameterSelectionforHomopolarGeneratorsUsed
asPulsedEnergyStores",CenterforElectromechanics,UniversityofTexas,Austin,Jul.1980.(also
publishedin:ElectricalMachinesandElectromechanics,6:109127,1981.)

Externallinks
PopularScienceMonthly,ConstructionofUnipolarDynamos,April1916,pp.624626,Scanned
articleavailableviaGoogleBooks:http://books.google.com/books?
id=hCYDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA624
RobertHebner,"HomopolarGenerator
(http://www.utexas.edu/research/cem/homopolar%20generators.html)".HomopolarWelding,UT
CEM.
"K264:Unipolargenerator(http://www.physics.umd.edu/lecdem/services/demos/demosk2/k2
64.htm)".physics.umd.edu.
RichardE.BergandCarrollO.Alley,"TheUnipolarGenerator:ADemonstrationofSpecial
Relativity(http://www.physics.umd.edu/lecdem/outreach/QOTW/arch11/q218unipolar.pdf)",
DepartmentofPhysics,UniversityofMaryland,2005.(PDF)
RichardFitzpatrick,"Magnetohydrodynamictheory",Thehomopolargenerator
(http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/plasma/lectures/node70.html).farside.ph.utexas.edu,200602
16.
"5K10.80HomopolarGenerator
(http://www.physics.brown.edu/physics/demopages/Demo/em/demo/5k1080.htm)Lecture
Demonstrations.".physics.brown.edu
WilliamJ.Beaty,"UntriedHomopolarGeneratorExperiments(http://www.amasci.com/freenrg/n
mach.html)".1996.

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