The first encounter with the term‘motor’ occurs right in childhood when every child refers to a motor car or a motor bike and has a huge fascination towards it. But, he is not aware of the meaning at that time and it is only as he grows older that an insight can be gained on it.

The way the motors work is fairly simple. All you need is a little bit of understanding of magnetism and the working of electricity. The main principle on which these motors work is by forcing the magnetic fields to interact with the conductors that carry current, thus resulting in an output which is force. The force thus helps the functioning of the motor. Hence, in case of the electric motors it is the electric energy that is converted into mechanical energy by using electromagnets. Electromagnets are magnets which are powered on electricity.

However, there is a variety of electric motors which function on the same underlying principle but have something unique in them which makes them different from each other. These different types of electric motors are also designed due to their different applications. Some specific alterations to a particular type of electric motor changes its purpose completely.

The basic classification of electric motors is based on the type of current, that is, alternating or direct. Hence there are AC motors and DC motors. But, both these motors have common parts like axle, field magnets, rotor, brushes, commutator and some sort of a DC power supply.However, what distinguishes these motors is not just the source of power but also the overall internal construction and the motion type that it gives.

These electric motors find applications in many industries. They are also at times, used as generators. They are also used as a source of mechanical power to the industries. For this, motors which are of a medium size and have standard dimensions are usually employed for the purpose. The larger one’s find application in water pumps or ship propellers or even pipeline compressors.

Some of the commonly used types of electric motors are three phase motors, single phase motors and high voltage motors. Each has their own specific use. Three phase motors are useful in industrial settings and processes where higher output is required. Single phase motors suit best in situations where high torque capacity is needed.

Now that we know how these motors work and how important they are in our every day life, it is important to understand that while buying these motors, the right selection is made. This is because, the motors that we buy should be durable enough and also safe to operate as it is electricity that we are working with when we use these motors.