Principle of Operation
Like any other electric motor, the homopolar motor is driven by the Lorentz force: as they move through an external magnetic field, the current carriers in the conductor experience a push that is perpendicular to both their velocity and to the external magnetic field. This force induces a torque around the axis of rotation. Because the axis of rotation is parallel to the external magnetic field, no commutation is required for the conductor to keep turning. This simplicity is achieved at the cost of not being able to have more than one coil turn, which makes the homopolar motor unsuited for most useful applications.
Like most electro-mechanical machines, a homopolar motor is reversible: if the conductor is turned mechanically, then it will operate as a homopolar generator, producing a direct current voltage between the two terminals of the conductor. The direct current produced is an effect of the homopolar nature of the design.
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