Ohhh kay,
In a nutshell:
an alternator in a automobile is actually a 3 phase alternator producing alternating current, rectified through a diode trio of usually 6 diodes ( 2 per phase) to produce direct current to charge the battery and/or substain adquate voltage to operate the vehicle.
It has a stator and a rotating field (rotor) it has slip rings that the brushes ride on to excite/vary the field.
A generator has a stationary field and a rotating armature with segments that the brushes ride on, it produces direct current.
the advantages of an alternator are:
they produce at a low rpm,
they have longer brush life as there are no segments, only slip rings.
a large output can be gotten from a small package.
most "stand by" powerplants are called "generators" by tradition.
they make power to do work.
Your money makes interest in a bank (hopefull)
you are generating income, but not electrical energy.
|