Timeline of the electric motor facts for kids

Electric motors are amazing machines that turn electricity into motion. They power everything from your phone's vibration to huge trains! These clever devices have a long and interesting history, starting way back in the early 1800s.

How Electric Motors Began

The story of electric motors began with scientists exploring how electricity and magnetism work together.

Early Discoveries (1820s)

• In 1820, a Danish scientist named Hans Christian Ørsted noticed something important: an electric current could make a compass needle move. This showed a direct link between electricity and magnetism.
• Soon after, in 1821, Michael Faraday in Britain took this idea further. He showed how a wire carrying electricity could continuously spin around a magnet. This was a very early step towards making things move with electricity.
• Then, in 1822, Peter Barlow invented the "Barlow's wheel," which was the first device ever powered by electromagnetism.
• A Hungarian physicist named Ányos Jedlik made a big breakthrough in 1828. He built one of the first working electric machines that used electromagnets. He also invented the commutator, a key part of many electric motors that helps keep them spinning in one direction.

Making Motors Practical (1830s)

• In 1831, Michael Faraday made another important discovery: he found out how to create electric current using a changing magnetic field. This idea is called "induction" and is super important for how motors and generators work.
• A German-Russian engineer, Moritz von Jacobi, built a powerful electric motor in 1834. It was strong enough to propel a boat! This was one of the first truly useful electric motors.
• In 1837, Thomas Davenport and Emily Davenport from America received the very first US patent for an electric motor. This showed how these inventions were becoming more recognized.
• Around the same time, Robert Davidson in Scotland developed electric motors for a lathe (a machine for shaping materials) and even a locomotive (a train engine).

Developing AC Motors (Late 1800s)

• By the 1880s, scientists and engineers were working on different types of electric motors, including those that used "alternating current" (AC). AC electricity changes direction many times a second, which is different from "direct current" (DC) that flows in one direction.
• In 1885, an Italian physicist named Galileo Ferraris invented one of the first AC motors that didn't need a commutator.
• A famous inventor, Nikola Tesla, also worked on AC motors around the same time, independently from Ferraris. In 1888, he described several types of AC motors that used two-phase electricity. His work was very important for making AC power practical for homes and industries.
• Later, between 1889 and 1890, Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky invented the first "cage" and "wound rotor" versions of the three-phase induction motor. These designs are still widely used today in many electric motors.

Twentieth Century Developments

As the 20th century began, electric motor technology continued to advance, leading to new and exciting uses.

Linear Motors

• One interesting development was the "linear induction motor." Unlike regular motors that spin, linear motors create motion in a straight line.
• In 1905, Alfred Zehden described a practical linear induction motor in a patent.
• Later, in 1935, Hermann Kemper built a working linear induction motor.
• Then, from 1945 to 1949, Eric Laithwaite built the first full-size working model of a linear induction motor. These types of motors are now used in things like high-speed trains (maglev trains) and some amusement park rides!