Testing the Electric Motor

There was something unique about the two industrialist duo. That when they decide to do something together, they'll do it and finish it at the soonest possible time. For them, time is of the essence. Every second counts. A delay of a minute could result in the factory not meeting up its daily quota of production.

With their newly-acquired technology from James Russel, which the two industrialist duo dubbed the parallel Edison, they started making direct current electric motors. The materials are quite simple, rubber for the insulation, copper wires, and iron for the framework and body. Two of those materials are already found in the factory. Fortunately, they reached out to one of the largest rubber manufacturing companies in Naugatuck, Connecticut, the Litchfield Rubber Company.

It took them about three weeks to deliver the rubber and the moment they got it, Poul and his new engineers got to work.

An electric motor is quite the opposite of a generator. In a generator, mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy. Whereas in an electric motor, electrical energy is converted to mechanical energy to do the work.

Electric motors in this world are not new. According to the history book that Poul purchased from a library in Pittsburgh, the first simple electric motor was built forty years ago, which is the year 840. Scientific approaches to further understanding electricity were already established including Kirchoff's Law, Lenz Law, Faraday's Law, Ohm's Law, Coulomb's Law, Gauss Law, and many more.

Engineers like Walter and Timothy have a theoretical understanding of those laws, making it easier for Poul as he'll simply demonstrate how they work.

As the company is producing air brakes and locomotive draft gears, Timothy and Walter were helping Poul to build a motor. The remaining engineers are working on the new venture the young industrialist duo wanted to get in, the railway signaling and interlocking systems.

"So this is about it?" Timothy commented. "A winding of copper wires encased in this metal."

"That's pretty much about it," Walter said, rubbing his chin. "We are harnessing the power of electricity. I can already see a glimpse of the future by staring at it. Imagine, we haven't found a way to capture electricity, the sky would be covered with a thick plume of black smoke."

"A steampunk is a word you are looking for," Poul said, looking at the direct current motor they created.

"Steampunk?" the two intoned, unfamiliar with the word Poul just said.

"Forget what I said. Anyways, let's get started. Timothy, please turn on the switch."

Timothy flipped the switch and suddenly, a buzzing and whirring noise was produced. The electric motor is hooked up from the dynamo that supplies electricity to the motor through commutator brushes. Once the commutators get their electricity from the brushes, it rotates the motor.

Poul designed a two-horsepower direct current electric motor for demonstration purposes. Fascinating the two who had been at odds with one another on who was the best between them.

"So instead of steam turning the shaft, it's electricity?" Timothy commented. "Not to mention, it's kind of stronger than steam…"

Timothy paused, humming in thought, contemplating something. "Basically everything is powered by steam, is it possible that we replace steam with electricity?"

"Not completely, Poul said. "For power generation, we still need steam to produce electricity."

"How about trains?" Walter voiced his thoughts. "You see, locomotives are powered by steam. What if we can replace a huge boiler and replace it with this simple device? Ahh…no. We are going to still need steam and carry coal to power up the generator and produce electricity."

Walter's idea was close to the electric trains. What he was missing is the overhead lines and pantograph where the train draws its AC electrical power that will feed the induction motor, a technology not discovered yet, which is connected to the axle brushes that rotate the wheel. An electric propulsion system is not far from Poul's hand, he can design one but he has priorities, like scaling up the production of his company through the use of motorized tools and equipment.

"I understand your frustration when you thought of an idea but immediately found out if it was feasible or not," Poul said, subtly praising Walter. "Your job as engineers in this company is to make miracles, wonders that would revolutionize the world."

"But so far the company is only producing safety gadgets for steam locomotives. I'm not looking down on the air brakes, it worked impressively but not the type of miracle that the world is looking for," Timothy remarked.

"Hmm, well if we factor out safety when we are designing prototypes, then the world is as good as dead," Poul rebutted. "Our company was founded out of tragedy, and its mission is to prevent that tragedy from ever happening again. But it doesn't mean we are going to stick ourselves in air brakes or locomotive draft gears forever. I have a vision that would surely amaze the two of you that would forget to breathe."

"Honestly speaking, I can't truly gauge your knowledge, Sir Poul," Walter said sincerely. "You thought of something, then you built it and it worked perfectly. It was as if you already knew what you were doing, like this direct current electric motor for example."

"I concur," Timothy agreed to Walter's observation. "All your products so far have been incredibly well-made. Pardon me if my next line is going to be rude. Sir Poul, you have no formal education, and yet why do I get the feeling that you are smarter than both of us?"

Poul braced his hands on the desk, staring at the electric motor they built together.

"I have this innate talent when it comes to science and technology. I can design things in my head, and see them in an exploded view. Add bolts, nails, and any other materials, and check if they would work well or not. I can also simulate if it's going to work or not. You're saying that I don't have formal education right? You are wrong, I actually have one but I can't tell you where. You will not find my record here as I didn't study here."

"Where did you study?" Walter asked, curious as to where he is getting all the knowledge.

Timothy looked at Poul in anticipation.

"Let's just say, from very far away," Poul chuckled, dodging their questions. "Okay, I think that's enough, you can turn it off now, Timothy."

Timothy flipped the switch, cutting the flow of electricity into the electric motor.

The electric motor slowly lost its momentum and whirring noises. Seconds later, the motor stopped moving completely.

"So, what do you think?" Timothy asked. "Was it a successful test or not?"

"I wouldn't say perfect. Earlier, when you flipped the switch, there was a surge of current into the motor. It's called inrush current, that's bad for the motor. It can be solved by flipping the switch on and off slowly but quickly until it reaches the desired rpm, but such a thing would be impractical should we do it manually. Second, when you flip the switch to turn off the motor, I'm sure there is a huge voltage drop. These two things can be solved easily but a device to fix it doesn't exist."

Poul sighed. The device that he is referring to is a transistor and a pulse width modulator. Both of which are too advanced for this world. Diodes are feasible as vacuum tubes aren't that hard to create but the modulator? A device called a potentiometer would do.

"Are you saying we can't use the motor?" Walter inquired, worryingly.

"Not technically, the motor can run without those things. But mechanical failures on the motor would be frequent and require maintenance. Looks like I'm going to go back on the drawing board again," Poul sighed. "Well, don't worry, once I perfected the design, we will have a working motor in our company in three months. That I guarantee."