Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
electric motor
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
three-phase induction motor waveforms of a three-phase system production of a rotating magnetic field rotating field and the currents that it produces split-phase induction motor evolution of a linear induction motor elementary synchronous generator reluctance motor in cross section Elementary electric motor.
Quizzes
Electric power lines against sunset (grid, power, wires, electrical, electricity)
Energy & Fossil Fuels
battery. Illustration of battery connected to lightbulb. Power a light bulb with a battery. Battery, Power Supply, Science, Circuit, Currents
Electricity: Short Circuits & Direct Currents
Read Next
A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England
Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
bird. mourning dove. pigeon and dove. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) family Columbidae.
Nikola Tesla's Weird Obsession with Pigeons
Discover
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army
8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century
The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Alice in Wonderland)
11 Banned Books Through Time
Woman tied to a ducking stool, a method of punishment by means of humiliation, beating, or death. (cucking stool)
8 Unusual Punishments Inflicted on Women Throughout History
Title: Senate Square, St. Petersburg, December 14, 1825: repression of the troop mutiny - watercolor by Carl Ivanovitch Kollman, 1825 depicts Decembrist uprising clashing with cavalry, with spectators watching. (new style December 26, 1825) Europe. Saint
8 of the Largest Empires in History
New York NY/ USA- November 23, 2018 Hordes of shoppers throng the Macy's Herald Square flagship store in New York looking for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday.
Why Is It Called Black Friday?
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?

Single-phase induction motors

inelectric motor
print Print
Please select which sections you would like to print:
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/technology/electric-motor
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Written by
Gordon R. Slemon
Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Toronto. Coauthor of Electric Machines and others.
Gordon R. Slemon
Fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: • Article History
On the Web:
MIT OpenCourseWare - Electric Motors (Oct. 30, 2024)
See all related content

The development of a rotating field in an induction machine requires a set of currents displaced in phase (as shown in the figure) flowing in a set of stator windings that are displaced around the stator periphery. While this is straightforward where a three-phase supply is available, most commercial and domestic supplies are only of a single phase, typically with a voltage of 120 or 240 volts. There are several ways in which the necessary revolving field can be produced from this single-phase supply.