Building an AC Generator from Scratch: Electromagnetic Induction for H2 Physics
Download printable cheat-sheet (CC-BY 4.0)05 Aug 2025, 00:00 Z
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Q: What does Building an AC Generator from Scratch: Electromagnetic Induction for H2 Physics cover?
A: Wind your own coils, spin magnets, and generate real electricity.
TL;DR Build a working AC generator with $20 of materials: magnets, wire, and a drill. Generate measurable voltage, see sinusoidal waveforms on your phone, verify Faraday's law quantitatively, and understand why mains electricity is AC not DC. Perfect for demonstrating electromagnetic induction beyond textbook diagrams.
Keep the rest of your hands-on builds organised in our H2 Physics Experiments hub.
Revising the full topic set? Pair this lab with the notes and drills at https://eclatinstitute.sg/blog/h2-physics-notes and keep scholarship ideas handy via https://eclatinstitute.sg/blog/scholarships/matcher if you convert the experiment into a competition or portfolio piece.
From Faraday to Your Phone Charger
Every electrical device you own exists because Faraday discovered that changing magnetic flux induces voltage. Your DIY generator will demonstrate:
- How motion creates electricity
- Why power stations use AC
- The link between frequency and rotation speed
- Why more coils = more voltage
Plus, there's something magical about lighting an LED with your own hand-wound generator.
