<^Generators (or Dynamos)> To “generate” means to create or make. What do <#5635,5131><!generators> make? Electric current! They make electric charges flow through wires. Power plants use generators, also called <#5636,5130><!dynamos>, to make electricity for whole towns.
Generators don’t make electric current out of thin air. They make it by changing mechanical (moving) energy into electrical energy. For example, move a wire <#5969,20><!coil> past a magnet. This motion creates electric current in a circuit. Like the moving coil, a spinning wind turbine has mechanical energy. Using a magnet, a generator can turn this energy into electrical energy too.
Generators are the opposite of electric motors - they turn mechanical energy into electrical energy. Electric motors turn electrical energy into mechanical energy.
