Tesla motor: is it A/C?

Yes, it is an AC motor.

http://www.teslamotors.com/design/under_the_skin.php choose motor and read the blurb at the left.

Ciao!

It's AC, and I'm sure the old boy wouldn't have it any other way - he invented it after all

Lissen- watdefak do you mean- Tesla invented very little(also Einstein, also 99% of us)- what happens is that someone or something uses previous discoveries/knowledge to say "ooh- ain't i clever- cleverer than all the rest of you!- & then adds his/her/it's experimentation"- ain't clever- it's dumb! Why? Because none of you can answer the quintesstial question :WHY ARE WE HERE_ WHAT REALLY CREATED EVERYTHING?. All all of you have are theories- IN OTHER WORDS NONE OF YOU KNOW_ AND I WOULD SUGGEST WILL NEVER KNOW!!!- ooh my brain hurts- need medicine- glug- glug

ya brain farts are in overload, time for a sheep

why are you dissing Tesla's acomplishments Neil Kwyrer?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

Lissen dumbo- Tesla utilised serendipity discoveries- don't we all?- the so-called Tesla car that ran on a box using power with no external connection to power supply is in the same league as water powered cars!- in other words utter bs- if not where are all the free energy Tesla cars now?. I agree that Tesla(as reported in books) was an exceptional engineer- but I would also say that there are many, many(most?) engineers, inventors who never receive aclaim, but who would be equally proficient.

sorry mister sience fundamentalist, so tesla does not deserve any praise? has it to do with what country he came from that you are dissing, so edisons ludicrous pushing of Direct Current should be applauded, he was the Bill gates of his age

WHO INVENTED EVERYTHING IN ALTERNATIVE CURRENTS IS TESLA;

IF TESLA DID NOT EXIST, WE ONLY WOULD KNOW WHAT MARCONI HAD DISCOVERED BY HIMSELF. AT THAT TIME EVERYTHING WAS POWERED BY DC;MONEY WAS FLOODING AND IT WAS NOT NECESSARY TO INVENT AC CURRENT;

TESLA HAD MADE MARCONI VERY RICH;HE WORKED FOR HIM ;MARCONI HAD ONLY THE WORK TO REQUEST THE PATENTS AND TO SIGN THEM , WAITING FOR THE NEXT INVENTION OF TESLA;

TESLA PERHAPS HAD NO KNOWLEDGES ABOUT HOW TO BECOME RICH, OR DID NOT WANT TO BECOME RICH;HE WAS HAPPY INVENTING THINGS;EVEN BEEING VERY POOR.LETTING HIM STARVE WAS PERHAPS A GOOG MANAGERING TECHNIQUE;

IT HAD BEEN A BIG STEP TO INVENT THE DIRECT CURRENT MOTORS;PERHAPS SOMEBODY IN THE FUTURE MAY REVIVE A FUNCTION FOR THEM, BUT TODAY THEY ARE A RARITY AS MOTORS THAT HAVE TO TRANSFORM AND DELIVER POWER;

PERHAPS THEIR FUTURE MAY BE IN THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY;

VERY FEW PEOPLE UNDERSTAND TODAY AND PROBABLY IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN SO,THE ALTERNATIVE THREE PHASES CURRENTS; LOOK THE MATHEMATICS USED TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMS AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY SO FEW PEOPLE WANT TO LEARN THAT;

THE DC CURRENT MOTORS WERE USED WHEN IT WAS NECESSARY TO CONTROL THE SPEED OF MACHINES ; IN DC YOU CAN CONTROL THE SPEED CHANGING THE VOLTAGE YOU APPLY TO THE STATOR OR CHANGING THE CURRENT YOU HAVE IN THE ROTOR .SPEED DEPENDS ONLY OF THIS BOTH FACTORS FOR PARALLELE AND SERIE MOTORS;

IN AC YOU CAN DO THE SAME BUT IN AC THE SPEED IS FIXED BY THE NUMBER OF POLES OF THE MACHINE AND BY THE FREQUENCE OF THE CURRENT,

TODAY THE HOISTING MOTORS IN THE CRANES USE TO BE THREE PHASES MOTORS WITH ROTORIC WINDING CONNECTED TO VARIABLE RESISTANCES;THAT IS THE GOOD WAY TO GET A HIGH TORQUE WHEN HOISTING A LOAD AND CONTROLLING THE SPEED ALL THE TIME;THE NEW TECHNOLOGY PERMITS AN EXTENSIVE USE OF AC MOTORS EVERYWHERE;

SCIENCES ARE THE RESULTS OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF A LOT OF PEOPLE,BUT IN THE CASE OF THE ALTERNATIVE CURRENTS, ONLY ONE GUY HAS INVENTED EVERYTHING ; IT IS TESLA;

A YOUGOSLAVE,ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT MAN OF ALL TIMES;

THERE IS A UNIT IN PHYSICS CALLED TESLA;

WISE PEOPLE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN HIM NOR HIS FANTASTIC CONTRIBUTION;

I understood that a Mr Faraday invented the AC motor, there is a unit named after him too. However the three-phase system invented by Mr Tesla is truly breathtaking and has transformed our world. Tesla does bring out the religious zeal in people, let's keep to science.

TRULY I HAVE FORGOTTEN FARADAY;

IN THE TIME WHEN TESLA WAS INVENTING THE THREE PHASES AC , ONE PHASE AC WAS EXISTING BUT THERE WAS NOT USE FOR THAT;THE MARKET WAS PUSHING THE DC;ONE PHASE AC EXISTS BECAUSE THREE PHASES AC CONTAINS IT;

I LIKE TESLA AND THAT THE REASON WHY I HAVE FORGOTTEN THE CONTRIBUTION IF FARADAY.

I ALSO LIKE STEFAN WOZNIAK EVEN IF HE IS NO MORE THE BOSS OF APPLE

Marconi's US patent was re-issued by the govt to Nikolai Tesla during WWII. Didn't know my original question (I quickly found out the motor was A/C after I posted) would bring out these kinds of reactions. One good thing, if everybody could acknowledge that posting comments in all capital letters is equivilent to shouting, and it is considered bad netiquette, that too would be enlightening.

Just one thing: I have read the biography of Tesla and that is the reason why I known, details of his life.

I like the guys who are usefull for the mankind, even if the other also the right to live

It wasn't really the market, but rather Thomas Edison, that was strongly marketing DC power over AC Power. Tesla and his employer General Electric were on the AC power side of the debate. Edison went around making claims about how dangerous AC power was, and using scare tactics to promote a DC power system.

DC power was dangerous too, there was a powerline disaster in NYC in which DC killed about a hundred people if I remember correctly. Tesla, before immigrating to the US, had worked for Edison in Alsace-Lorraine and joined Edison in NYC. Tesla repaired the DC design on a ship in which Edison's installations were present but not working. J.P.Morgan's home drapery was set afire by DC due to primitive wiring and his home generator was very noisy as well. As a result of knowing Edison up close, Tesla did not respect Edison's try and try again approach, it seemed undisciplined to him. Edison's humor was lost on Tesla when he promised him a great deal of money on one project Tesla worked on. Tesla quit. George Westinghouse financed numerous Tesla experiments, I don't think Tesla ever worked for GE who were, along with J.P.Morgan, were financing Edison's DC power grid in NYC. Tesla designed the Niagara Falls power grid (which also used a few GE generators btw!). The big AC/DC lawsuit with Edison and Westinghouse was held in McKeesport, Pa. Westinghouse was a rough character. Edison gave Westinghouse a personal tour of Edison's laboratory, such professional courtesies seemed naive to Westinghouse. Tesla is a monumental figure no doubt about it; however, some people think Edison actually invented the diode in his vacuum tube designs. Edison did not pursue this stroke of genius for personal gain just as Tesla did not pursue his AC patents for personal gain. Each man contributed and we have all benefited. - Ed

Ben Franklin actually invented the diode! Have you another explanation of how he knew something was traveling from conventional negative to conventional positive in an electrical circuit? This published observation required thermionic emission in a vacuum tube.

Tuber

Actually it was Edison and Westinghouse going at it over DC vs AC. Westinghouse bought a bunch of Tesla's patents and was paying him royalties. GE didn't get in until later.

"Actually it was Edison and Westinghouse going at it over DC vs AC. Westinghouse bought a bunch of Tesla's patents and was paying him royalties. GE didn't get in until later." We are in agreement. - Ed

We thought , electricity , electro magnetism to be discoveries rather than inventions , it was machines that are invented to utilise electricity , generation , do we conclude before electricity was discovered (invented) to being utilised there was no existence of electricity by nature, by the way DC mototors will run parllel with there AC counterpart , both have different applications , small compact , electronic controls require DC motors for ease of control , AC motors can find way in heavy industrial applications , Sir Nikola Tesla is a legend for science perticulary electrical engineering ,his way of life , simple living high thinking , ability to manufacture "inventions"at his will were extraordinary

It is important sometimes to remember important things. I am living in Europe, and I admire the americain people. I have been educated in France, in electrotechnics, electronics, and have spend years in Germany and Brazil. I have used the first PLC 's Allen Bradley in 1979. I had no idea about how such things could work. As application engineer, I had the time to learn until the Motorola made his 68000 processor. And started a new world. I like what all the people living, inventing in America do.

I did not want to create a confusion with Tesla, but the fact that somebody knows or not, will not change what has happened during the birth of the three phases currents.

You forgot his mad scientist exhibits to promote AC power, after Edisons claims about how dangerous it was. Millions of volts of static electricity on a stage generates a lot of public awareness (entertainment).

This was perhaps his way of displaying invention .globe , static through his hands was entertaning prompting to awareness

Actually, there is less and less reason for the application of DC motors. While it is true that varying the speed of a DC motor is quite easy to accomplish, the torque available from the motor varies in inverse proportion to the speed, which is definitely not a useful thing.

AC induction motors (ACIMs), *particualrly* three phase ACIMs, can be easily speed controlled using electronic variable frequency inverter systems, which are fairly easy to build, compact, highly efficient, cost very little more than the older contactor on/off control systems which preceded them, and also offer the advantage of full torque output at all speeds.

The use of speed control for ACIMs has produced a new movement toward energy efficiency in ACIM applications. BY allowing the motor speed/torque to be adjust to current demand levels, substantial quantities of energy can be saved, typically, for many ACIM applications, as much as 50-60% in energy savings. Additional savings are also possible because in general, one can specify a smaller motors, when one has the ability to match motor output speed to demand, rather than always running at full speed.

avrFreak

hey WAnclik- Tesla never worked for Marconi- Marconi stole his radio ideas- Tesla was recognised as the father of radio after many years of court action- I think you are confusing Edison with Marconi- Edison definitely stole Tesla's ideas & effort- that is why Tesla left Edisons employ for a job as a ditch-digger- until he could arrange further funding after he invented the polyphase ac motor.

Answer:once the problem of how the current you use ,is generated is resolved, you chose the answer.

If you generate your power with hydrogen and/or oxygene, getting directly DC current, you can choose a dc motor ,The constructive details that make a DC motor different of an AC motor can play a role. You need brushes. for a dc current.

But synchrone motors can also have brushes.(They have a small torque for starting, you cannot adopt them for a car)

Tesla has invented the concepts of how to design machines powered in three phases currents. If you generate three phases current on your car, you can use a three phases motor. It is not a complicated thing, you put a bridge with six thyristors, and you can power the three phases motor in two directions.

I believe that both solutions will be adopted by the constructors. I would recommend the dc motor solution , because the direct current serie motors have a huge torque capacity at start. Universal motors can also be used.

Wow... such opinions...

AC is smaller, lighter, less maintenance and just as capable as DC for electric vehicle use, but requires more complex electronics to function in the necessary manner. But by the power of economies of scale, those electronic systems have become less and less expensive as the majority of applications switch from DC to AC, making implementation of AC motors into passenger vehicles the wave of the future. There is no looking back, and why would anyone want to? Can you imagine being on a lonely stretch of desert highway when your DC motor commutation brushes decided to give out? Not me! And for those who say Permanent Magnet DC would work, I say, at what cost? Rare earth magnets are called that because why? Because they are RARE, meaning that if we start using them in cars, the cost will be astronomical. There are still some applications where DC has relevance, automotive power is not one of them.

BTW, Tesla did not "invent" electric motors, he invented practical AC electric motors and generators (the comment about 1 phase motors existing first is just plain incorrect). He cannot be credited for making the idea of electric motors possible, but his inventions did make them available to the entire world. Had Edison succeeded in making sure DC was the only way to go, there would have been power generation stations every few miles, limiting the use of electricity to the rich and powerful because of the extreme costs involved. So to that extent, Tesla's gift was the improvement of the human condition, all around the globe.

However had Tesla not existed, the world would have invented him at some later date. There is no way that Edison's plans for DC dominance would have succeeded forever. it's just too cumbersome and limiting.

With dc everywhere, it had been like having microsoft everywhere.Try to put something different in 2007 on the way

???

Something must be lost in translation...

To speak about electric motors, I only spreak taking my information from my memory, I have no more books to consult. I tell only one thing to the gentleman who asked the question

the dc motor with serial winding, is the motor that has the stronger torque for starting. It works like an ac motor having his rotor winding connected to resistors . This a/c motor is used in cranes because you can lift anything , controlling the speed.

Today it is possible to control the secondary current circulating in the rotor with thyristors, so you can imagine a control on the stator on/off and the speed control on the secondary.This configuration can exist.

Returning to the dc serial motor, with the best torque, because for a car, you need to start easily, you also can control the current with thyristor.

However , the dc serie motors can present a risk. If the magnetic field is zero, having voltage at the stator, there a risk of overspeed.

That is what I remember

correction

what I written is exact , but I have to correct one point.

if you control the speed of an ac motor provided with secondary wirings, you can only control the speed changing the current on the secondary side.

you must invert two phases on the primary side for changing the direction of the rotation

Just a few quick comments to add to the frenzy:

Nikola Teslas patents are available in a single published work, of which I am proud to own a copy. It's approximately 2 inches thick and covers a variety of novel electrical and mechanical devices (such as the blade-less water turbine and mechanical resonators).

A friend of mine, now a nuclear engineer, rewired his own alternator into a 12 phase system (yeah 12 phases) to charge a battery bank for his cabin. It worked absolutely amazing, using nothing more than the head available from a small stream to turn the turbine blades on his custom sealed alternator tucked about 2 feet underwater.

Tesla was also an avid proponent, per his mother's direction, of not building a prototype until you had it working in your head. This extra ordinary level of thought is becoming increasingly rare in many engineers today, that have become used to cobbling things together with a 'good enough' approach. The internal combustion engine is a fine example of old technology refined to a state of mild lunacy rather than doing the whole thing over or right. If our bodies were as inefficient, I would hate to think what the food shortage would be like.

Lastly, all have contributed; Einsten, Tesla, Edison, & probably even yourselves. Patents are not a good measure of a persons contribution, knowledge, or intelligence. They are a legal device and nothing more. I have several and believe me, I couldn't be more unimpressed with patents. On the contrary, I am awed by the farmer's ingenuity and that of the ancients, which were unbelievable people of diversity, intellect, and patent free.

The progress is not linear, sometimes it is very useful to make a mistake, or have an accident in his life.

In my school time, we have spend years testing, metering all kinds of existing motors.As adult I have worked for Toshiba. This company has built motors of 50 thousand kw for the the ventilation of furnaces.

I believe that a good configuration for a new multi-combustible car having a battery on board, will be the dc motor with separeted serial field for excitation.

I appreciated your last words.

"Tesla was also an avid proponent, per his mother's direction, of not building a prototype until you had it working in your head." I've worked on a project continually that way for a year. Drawings fail to convey what it is I am visualizing yet I know its there. Like Edison said, you get a great idea and then things get complicated. Its been a while since I read my Tesla books, the guy was conceptually relentless that's for sure. As for three-phase? Didn't he always do things in "threes" such as walking around a block, etc., he just didn't "walk" around a block. - Ed

Yes.The description itself makes it clear 3 phase.