What is a capacitor, how does it work ?

A capacitor is an electrical component which is composed of two plates separated by an electrical insulation. This component could function in two modes, the charge and the discharge. The charge occurs when there is a difference of potential across the conductors. It permit to store energy inside the generated electric field. In general, this kind of component is used for blocking the direct current and for letting pass the alternative one. They could be used to stabilize the voltage and the power flow in an electric power transmission.

What is a hand crank generator?

A hand crank generator is an engine which is used as a generator. It turns a mechanical energy into an electrical current. It is composed of three principal components which are the stator, the rotor and a rotary handle. The user will turn the rotary handle which will make turn a magnet inside a coil. Due to the rotation of the magnet, the electrical field turn and an electrical current will appear in the coil.

What will happen if I turn the hand crank handle in the wrong direction.

The hand crank generator could function as an engine in both directions. The direction of rotation will just impact the sense of the current which is generated. However, you should be careful with the components which are connected to the generator. In fact, some components are polarized and they couldn’t works in both sense.

What will happen if I connect the hand crank generator to the fan in the wrong direction?

Nothing bad, the fan is composed of a small engine which works in the same way as the generator but in the other direction (it turns an electrical current into a mechanical motion). If you pug the generator wires in the wrong direction, the fan will turn in the other direction than previously.

Is there a special position to plug the generator to the potentiometer?

There is just one thing to know when you use a potentiometer, it should be wired in parallel with the component you want to measure the voltage.

What will happen if I connect the hand crank generator to the capacitor in the wrong sense?

You will damage seriously the capacitor if you turn the handle when the wires are incorrectly plugged into the capacitor. In this way you risk breaking, or cracking, the capacitor. Warning, if you connect the capacitor in the good way but you turn the hand crank generator handle in the wrong sense, you also risk to break the capacitor.

Troubleshooting

1. The bulb light on the hand crank generator does not work when I rotate the arm.

Replace the bulb light. It could have been damaged by long time using.

2. The fan does not run when I rotate the arm and all the connections are correct.

Please tap the fan blade with your finger to help it start.