Electrical generator

An electrical generator is a device that produces electrical energy from a mechanical energy source. The process is known as electricity generation.

Early 20th century Alternator made in Budapest, Hungary, in the power generating hall of a hydroelectric station.

Historic Developments

Before the connection between magnetism and electricity was discovered, generators used electrostatic principles. The Wimshurst machine used electrostatic induction or "influence". The Van de Graaff generator uses either of two mechanisms:

  • Charge transferred from a high-voltage electrode
  • Charge created by the triboelectric effect using the separation of two insulators (the belt leaving the lower pulley)

Electrostatic generators are inefficient and are useful only for scientific experiments requiring high voltages.

Faraday

Portable generator (side view) Portable generator (angle view)

In 1831-1832 Michael Faraday discovered that a potential difference is generated between the ends of an electrical conductor that moves perpendicular to a magnetic field. He also built the first electromagnetic generator called the Faraday disc, a type of homopolar generator, using a copper disc rotating between the poles of a horseshoe magnet. It produced a small direct current.

Dynamo

The dynamo was the first electrical generator capable of delivering power for industry, and is still the most important generator in use in the 21st century. The dynamo uses electromagnetic principles to convert mechanical rotation into an alternating electric current.

The first dynamo based on Faraday's principles was built in 1832 by Hippolyte Pixii, a French instrument maker. It used a permanent magnet which was rotated by a crank. The spinning magnet was positioned so that its north and south poles passed by a piece of iron wrapped with wire. Pixii found that the spinning magnet produced a pulse of current in the wire each time a pole passed the coil. Furthermore, the north and south poles of the magnet induced currents in opposite directions. By adding a commutator, Pixii was able to convert the alternating current to direct current.

Gramme dynamo

Both of these designs suffered from a similar problem: they induced "spikes" of current followed by none at all. Antonio Pacinotti, an Italian scientist, fixed this by replacing the spinning coil with a toroidal one, which he created by wrapping an iron ring. This meant that some part of the coil was continually passing by the magnets, smoothing out the current. Zénobe Gramme reinvented this design a few years later when designing the first commercial power plants, which operated in Paris in the 1870s. His design is now known as the Gramme dynamo. Various versions and improvements have been made since then, but the basic concept of a spinning endless loop of wire remains at the heart of all modern dynamos.

Concepts

The generator creates an electric current, but does not create electric charge, which is already present in the conductive wire of its windings. It is somewhat analogous to a water pump, which creates a flow of water but does not create the water itself.

Other types of electrical generator exist, based on other electrical phenomena such as piezoelectricity, and magnetohydrodynamics. The construction of a dynamo is similar to that of an electric motor, and all common types of dynamos could work as motors. Also, all common types of electric motors could work as generators.

The generator rotor is turned by a device termed a prime mover, often a Diesel engine, steam turbine, water turbine or gas turbine coupled to the rotor shaft.

Equivalent circuit

Equivalent circuit of generator and load.
G = generator
VG=generator open-circuit voltage
RG=generator internal resistance
VL=generator on-load voltage
RL=load resistance

The equivalent circuit of a generator and load is shown in the diagram to the right. To determine the generator's VG and RG parameters, follow this procedure: -

  • Before starting the generator, measure the resistance across its terminals using an ohmmeter. This is its DC internal resistance RGDC.
  • Start the generator. Before connecting the load RL, measure the voltage across the generator's terminals. This is the open-circuit voltage VG.
  • Connect the load as shown in the diagram, and measure the voltage across it with the generator running. This is the on-load voltage VL.
  • Measure the load resistance RL, if you don't already know it.
  • Calculate the generator's AC internal resistance RGAC from the following formula:

Note 1: The AC internal resistance of the generator when running is generally slightly higher than its DC resistance when idle. The above procedure allows you to measure both values. For rough calculations, you can omit the measurement of RGAC and assume that RGAC and RGDC are equal.

Note 2: If the generator is an AC type (distinctly not a dynamo), use an AC voltmeter for the voltage measurements.

Maximum power

The maximum power theorem applies to generators as it does to any source of electrical energy. This theorem states that the maximum power can be obtained from the generator by making the resistance of the load equal to that of the generator. However, under this condition the power transfer efficiency is only 50%, which means that half the power generated is wasted as heat inside the generator. For this reason, practical generators are not usually designed to operate at maximum power output, but at a lower power output where efficiency is greater.

Low-power

Early motor vehicles tended to use DC generators with regulators. These were not particularly reliable or efficient and have now been replaced by alternators with inbuilt rectifier circuits. These power the electrical systems on the vehicle and recharge the battery after starting. Rated output will typically be in the range 50-100 A at 12 V, depending on the forecast electrical load within the vehicle - some cars now have electrically powered superchargers and airconditioning, which places a high load on the electrical system. Commercial vehicles are more likely to use 24 V to give sufficient torque at the starter motor to turn over a large diesel engine. Vehicle alternators do not use permanent magnets; they can achieve efficiencies of up to 90% over a wide speed range by control of the field voltage.

Some of the smallest generators commonly found are used to power bicycle lights. These tend to be 0.5 A permanent-magnet alternators, supplying 3-6 W at 6 V or 12 V. Being powered by the rider, efficiency is at a premium, so these may incorporate rare-earth magnets and be designed and manufactured with great precision. Nevertheless, the maximum efficiency is only around 60% for the best generators - 40% is more typical - due to the use of permanent magnets. A battery would be required in order to use a controllable electromagnetic field instead, and this is unacceptable due to its weight and bulk.

Aircraft have also switched from DC generators to alternators; these are typically powered by a takeoff from an engine.

Sailing yachts may use a water or wind powered generator to trickle-charge the batteries. A small propellor, wind turbine or impeller is connected to a low-power alternator and rectifier to supply currents of up to 10 A at typical cruising speeds.

Engine-generator

An engine-generator is the combination of an electrical generator and an engine mounted together to form a single piece of equipment. This combination is also called an engine-generator set or a genset. In many contexts, the engine is taken for granted and the combined unit is simply called a generator.

In addition to the engine and generator, engine-generators generally include a fuel tank, an engine speed regulator and a generator voltage regulator. Many units are equipped with a battery and electric starter. Standby power generating units often include an automatic starting system and a transfer switch to disconnect the load from the utility power source and connect it to the generator.

Engine-generators produce alternating current power that is used as a substitute for the power that might otherwise be purchased from a utility power station. The generator voltage (volts), frequency (Hz) and power (watts) ratings are selected to suit the load that will be connected. Both single-phase and three-phase models are available.

Engine-generators are available in a wide range of power ratings. These include small, hand-portable units that can supply several hundred watts of power, hand-cart mounted units, as pictured above, that can supply several thousand watts and stationary or trailer-mounted units that can supply over a million watts. The smaller units tend to use gasoline (petrol) as a fuel, and the larger ones have various fuel types, including diesel, natural gas and propane (liquid or gas).

Engine-generators are often used to supply electrical power in places where utility power is not available and in situations where power is needed only temporarily. Small generators are sometimes used to supply power tools at construction sites. Trailer-mounted generators supply power for lighting, amusement rides etc. for traveling carnivals.

Standby power generators are permanently installed and kept ready to supply power to critical loads during temporary interruptions of the utility power supply. Hospitals, communications service installations, sewerage pumping stations and many other important facilities are equipped with standby power generators.

Small and medium generators are especially popular in third world countries to supplement grid power, which is often unreliable. Trailer-mounted generators can be towed to disaster areas where grid power has been temporarily disrupted.

Mid-size stationary engine-generator

The mid-size stationary engine-generator pictured here is a 100 kVA set which produces 415 V at around 100 A per phase. It's powered by a 6.7 litre turbocharged Perkins Phaser 1000 Series engine, and consumes approximately 27 litres of fuel an hour, on a 400 litre tank. Stationary generators used in the US are used in size up to 2800 kW. These diesel engines are run in the UK on red diesel and rotate at 1500 rpm. This produces power at 50 Hz, which is the frequency used in the UK. In areas where the power frequency is 60 Hz (United States), generators rotate at 1800 rpm or another even multiple of 60.

This is an image of the size of an large Perkins Diesel Generator, Manufactured by F&G Wilson Engineering Ltd. This is an 100KVA Set.

Patents

  • U.S. Patent 222,881 -- Magneto-Electric Machines : Thomas Edison's main continuous current dynamo. The device's nickname was the "long-legged Mary-Ann". This device has large bipolar magnets. It is inefficient.
  • U.S. Patent 373,584 -- Dynamo-Electric Machine : Edison's improved dynamo which includes an extra coil and ultilizes a field of force.
  • U.S. Patent 359748 -- Dynamo Electric Machine - Nikola Tesla's construction of the alternating current induction motor / generator.
  • U.S. Patent 406968 -- Dynamo Electric Machine - Tesla's "Unipolar" machine (i.e., a disk or cylindrical conductor is mounted in between magnetic poles adapted to produce a uniform magnetic field).
  • U.S. Patent 417794 -- Armature for Electric Machines -Tesla's construction principles of the armature for electrical generators and motors. (Related to patents numbers US327797, US292077, and GB9013.)
  • U.S. Patent 447920 -- Method of Operating Arc-Lamps - Tesla's alternating current generator of high frequency alternations (or pulsations) above the auditory level.
  • U.S. Patent 447921 -- Alternating Electric Current Generator - Tesla's generator that produces alterations of 15000 per second or more.

References

  • Electus Distribution Reference Data Sheet: Impedance Matching Primer (PDF)
  • Generator Facts

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In areas where the power frequency is 60 Hz (United States), generators rotate at 1800 rpm or another even multiple of 60. With the help of a psychic medium, he contacts his wife and learns the truth. This produces power at 50 Hz, which is the frequency used in the UK. In popular 1990 academy award winning film Ghost, the ghost of a murdered man (played by Patrick Swayze) returns to earth to find out more about his murder and seek revenge on his killer. These diesel engines are run in the UK on red diesel and rotate at 1500 rpm. Despite their unrealistic and outlandish nature, these gimmicks are very popular and have led to many championship runs for both men. Stationary generators used in the US are used in size up to 2800 kW. They are The Undertaker and Kane.

It's powered by a 6.7 litre turbocharged Perkins Phaser 1000 Series engine, and consumes approximately 27 litres of fuel an hour, on a 400 litre tank. WWE features two wrestlers, who portray men that have died and come back from the dead several times. The mid-size stationary engine-generator pictured here is a 100 kVA set which produces 415 V at around 100 A per phase. The recent Japanese movie The Ring and the Hong Kong movie The Eye are both inspired by old wives' tales about haunting spirits. Trailer-mounted generators can be towed to disaster areas where grid power has been temporarily disrupted. In Asia horror cinema, the ghost stories often include adaptations of old oriental folklore set in a present day city. Small and medium generators are especially popular in third world countries to supplement grid power, which is often unreliable. One way to make the phantom appear on stage is Pepper's ghost technique.

Hospitals, communications service installations, sewerage pumping stations and many other important facilities are equipped with standby power generators. Theatre productions sometimes feature ghosts. Standby power generators are permanently installed and kept ready to supply power to critical loads during temporary interruptions of the utility power supply. Benson. for traveling carnivals. F. Trailer-mounted generators supply power for lighting, amusement rides etc. Wakefield, and E.

Small generators are sometimes used to supply power tools at construction sites. R. Engine-generators are often used to supply electrical power in places where utility power is not available and in situations where power is needed only temporarily. Sheridan Le Fanu, H. The smaller units tend to use gasoline (petrol) as a fuel, and the larger ones have various fuel types, including diesel, natural gas and propane (liquid or gas). James, J. These include small, hand-portable units that can supply several hundred watts of power, hand-cart mounted units, as pictured above, that can supply several thousand watts and stationary or trailer-mounted units that can supply over a million watts. R.

Engine-generators are available in a wide range of power ratings. Other authors in the field include Oscar Wilde (The Canterville Ghost, 1887), M. Both single-phase and three-phase models are available. Algernon Blackwood was a British writer who is well known for writing ghost stories. The generator voltage (volts), frequency (Hz) and power (watts) ratings are selected to suit the load that will be connected. Boag-Munroe is the fictional ghosthunter from A Haunted Man by horror writer Stuart Neild. Engine-generators produce alternating current power that is used as a substitute for the power that might otherwise be purchased from a utility power station. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn visit a haunted house in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Standby power generating units often include an automatic starting system and a transfer switch to disconnect the load from the utility power source and connect it to the generator. Other famous ghosts in fiction include the Headless Horseman, who appears in Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Many units are equipped with a battery and electric starter. In the controversial BBC film Ghostwatch, a ghost invades the world of the living. In addition to the engine and generator, engine-generators generally include a fuel tank, an engine speed regulator and a generator voltage regulator. In Ghost in the Shell, ghost is a word used to describe a person's inner being, similar to the concept of a soul. In many contexts, the engine is taken for granted and the combined unit is simply called a generator. In the Ghostbusters film and television cartoon, the protagonists use special technology of their own design to hunt and capture/exile the ghosts they encounter.

This combination is also called an engine-generator set or a genset. by a millionaire, see plot summary. An engine-generator is the combination of an electrical generator and an engine mounted together to form a single piece of equipment. In the film The Ghost Goes West (1935), actor Robert Donat plays a ghost in a Scottish castle which is bought, dismantled and shipped to the U.S. A small propellor, wind turbine or impeller is connected to a low-power alternator and rectifier to supply currents of up to 10 A at typical cruising speeds. In the film The Sixth Sense, actor Bruce Willis plays a child psychologist working with a young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who believes he can see the spirits of the dead among the living. Sailing yachts may use a water or wind powered generator to trickle-charge the batteries. There are ghost superheroes who fight for justice, such as DC Comics' The Spectre and Deadman, as well as Nickelodeon's Danny Phantom.

Aircraft have also switched from DC generators to alternators; these are typically powered by a takeoff from an engine. Despite his ghostliness, the good-natured Casper tries to befriend people rather than scare them. A battery would be required in order to use a controllable electromagnetic field instead, and this is unacceptable due to its weight and bulk. Casper the Friendly Ghost is a cartoon character from Harvey Comics. Nevertheless, the maximum efficiency is only around 60% for the best generators - 40% is more typical - due to the use of permanent magnets. Finally, in the play Richard III, the title character is visited by the angry ghosts of those he has killed, foretelling his doom and blessing his opponent, Richmond, later to become Henry VII. Being powered by the rider, efficiency is at a premium, so these may incorporate rare-earth magnets and be designed and manufactured with great precision. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the title character believes he sees the "blood-bolter'd" ghost of his former friend Banquo sitting in his chair during a feast.

These tend to be 0.5 A permanent-magnet alternators, supplying 3-6 W at 6 V or 12 V. Julius Caesar's ghost appears to Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to warn Brutus of his impending defeat. Some of the smallest generators commonly found are used to power bicycle lights. When Hamlet sees the ghost, he is not sure if it is in fact his father's spirit or a demon whose aim is to deceive him. Vehicle alternators do not use permanent magnets; they can achieve efficiencies of up to 90% over a wide speed range by control of the field voltage. The ghost exhorts Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius. Commercial vehicles are more likely to use 24 V to give sufficient torque at the starter motor to turn over a large diesel engine. The ghost says that he was in fact murdered by his brother Claudius, who now (by virtue of having married Hamlet's mother Gertrude) occupies the throne.

Rated output will typically be in the range 50-100 A at 12 V, depending on the forecast electrical load within the vehicle - some cars now have electrically powered superchargers and airconditioning, which places a high load on the electrical system. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, a ghost taking the form of Hamlet's recently deceased father appears to Prince Hamlet one night. These power the electrical systems on the vehicle and recharge the battery after starting. Ghosts in the novel are also keen on having a Deathday Party on the anniversaries of their deaths. These were not particularly reliable or efficient and have now been replaced by alternators with inbuilt rectifier circuits. In the fictional Harry Potter, there are a number of ghosts including Nearly Headless Nick, The Bloody Baron, The Fat Friar and the Grey Lady, who might be based on Lady Jane Grey. Early motor vehicles tended to use DC generators with regulators. In many stories, ghosts are often depicted as haunting the living until a certain desire is met or some grievance was settled by the haunted.

For this reason, practical generators are not usually designed to operate at maximum power output, but at a lower power output where efficiency is greater. (See Horror fiction for more on the haunted/ghost-driven fiction.). However, under this condition the power transfer efficiency is only 50%, which means that half the power generated is wasted as heat inside the generator. After Edgar Allan Poe, the "ghost story" began an independent generic history, and today the genre of Horror continues the use of ghosts as villains in fiction. This theorem states that the maximum power can be obtained from the generator by making the resistance of the load equal to that of the generator. Horace Walpole's 1764 The Castle of Otranto was among the first to set up the rational but malign actions of a ghost to create an atmosphere of foreboding, mystery, and fear. The maximum power theorem applies to generators as it does to any source of electrical energy. However, the haunting and mystery/adversarial acts of the ghost appears later in the "ghost story." Hauntings feature in Eyrbyggja Saga for a section of the work, but the "Gothic novel" and later "Gothic fiction" introduced the use of ghosts for fear to literature.

Note 2: If the generator is an AC type (distinctly not a dynamo), use an AC voltmeter for the voltage measurements. In the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage, the vengeful ghost is a commonplace who sets plots in motion. For rough calculations, you can omit the measurement of RGAC and assume that RGAC and RGDC are equal. The malign ghost whose intent is either to set right an injustice or to be avenged upon the living, either in general or on a specific person, features in many fictions. The above procedure allows you to measure both values. Such gnomic or oracular statements reward the reader with knowledge greater than the fiction's participants. Note 1: The AC internal resistance of the generator when running is generally slightly higher than its DC resistance when idle. Such a ghost in disguise usually, in fiction, offers statements or visions that are relevant to the plot, but not in a way comprehensible to the characters.

To determine the generator's VG and RG parameters, follow this procedure: -. Additionally, some urban legends, such as the "Hitchhiking ghost," turn upon an anonymous stranger (or Elvis Presley in a common variant) who is revealed to be a ghost in the clinch of the story. The equivalent circuit of a generator and load is shown in the diagram to the right. In folk music, there are songs featuring lovers and objects of affection who must leave before dawn (a variant on the Cupid and Psyche story) because they are ghosts. The generator rotor is turned by a device termed a prime mover, often a Diesel engine, steam turbine, water turbine or gas turbine coupled to the rotor shaft. A character otherwise regarded as living turns out, in the fiction's denouement, to be a supernatural agent. Also, all common types of electric motors could work as generators. Finally, the ghost messenger features in fiction as a ghost in disguise.

The construction of a dynamo is similar to that of an electric motor, and all common types of dynamos could work as motors. Such ghosts can either act as a deus ex machina by resolving plot points with supernatural power or as a mentor who offers sagacity to the characters with a limited point of view. Other types of electrical generator exist, based on other electrical phenomena such as piezoelectricity, and magnetohydrodynamics. In some fictions, a departed relative (usually) or friend guides the living to either a moral or material benefit. It is somewhat analogous to a water pump, which creates a flow of water but does not create the water itself. However, the ghost messenger can also act as a way reminiscent of the guardian angel in fiction. The generator creates an electric current, but does not create electric charge, which is already present in the conductive wire of its windings. In each of these cases, the fictional ghost offers counsel to the living and thus acts as a messenger from the implicitly greater world beyond.

Various versions and improvements have been made since then, but the basic concept of a spinning endless loop of wire remains at the heart of all modern dynamos. Further, he finds that the ancestors of many great lords and ladies of his day were stable boys, servants, etc. His design is now known as the Gramme dynamo. Jonathan Swift satirized the genre in the third book of Gulliver's Travels by having Gulliver summon the ghosts of former kings and great conquerors and finding, instead of nobility, petty, childish, and stupid people who possessed no wisdom and who accomplished their great deeds for mean and selfish reasons. Zénobe Gramme reinvented this design a few years later when designing the first commercial power plants, which operated in Paris in the 1870s. The genre was most popular in the 18th century, and examples were written by many. This meant that some part of the coil was continually passing by the magnets, smoothing out the current. These "ghosts" were under control of a great sorcerer or otherwise compelled to speak.

Antonio Pacinotti, an Italian scientist, fixed this by replacing the spinning coil with a toroidal one, which he created by wrapping an iron ring. In the Dialogues of the Dead genre, authors would somehow contrive a device for summoning the dead to a character who would then speak with them and ask them questions about philosophy or current events. Both of these designs suffered from a similar problem: they induced "spikes" of current followed by none at all. In Odyssey, Odysseus travels to Hades and sees the shades of his former colleagues, including some he did not know were dead, and pours out fresh blood, which the dead hunger for, until he can find Tiresias and get guidance on his voyages. By adding a commutator, Pixii was able to convert the alternating current to direct current. These were based upon the Witch of Endor story and the visions of Hades found in both Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid. Furthermore, the north and south poles of the magnet induced currents in opposite directions. A popular genre of literature from the early Renaissance to the early twentieth century was the Dialogues of the Dead.

Pixii found that the spinning magnet produced a pulse of current in the wire each time a pole passed the coil. New Orleans' ghosts include pirates from the 18th century, through 20th century spectres. The spinning magnet was positioned so that its north and south poles passed by a piece of iron wrapped with wire. The city of New Orleans is sometimes called 'America's most haunted city' with numerous ghost reports, especially in the French Quarter which remained largely undamaged by Hurricane Katrina. It used a permanent magnet which was rotated by a crank. The former prison island of Alcatraz off the coast of San Francisco is said to be home to a number of ghosts of prisoners that died there. The first dynamo based on Faraday's principles was built in 1832 by Hippolyte Pixii, a French instrument maker. The prophet's spirit gives the king no assistance, but rebukes him and foretells his doom instead.

The dynamo uses electromagnetic principles to convert mechanical rotation into an alternating electric current. In the Biblical account of the Witch of Endor, King Saul of Israel has the witch conjure up the ghost of the prophet Samuel to consult him on his precarious situation. The dynamo was the first electrical generator capable of delivering power for industry, and is still the most important generator in use in the 21st century. The ghost of the Roman Emperor Caligula was said to haunt the Lamian Gardens of Rome, where his body had been hastily and unceremoniously buried after his assassination. It produced a small direct current. The White House in Washington, D.C., is said to be haunted by the ghost of Abraham Lincoln and by several lesser spectres. He also built the first electromagnetic generator called the Faraday disc, a type of homopolar generator, using a copper disc rotating between the poles of a horseshoe magnet. Indeed, the presence of many centuries-old buildings has given England the reputation of the most haunted country in the world.

In 1831-1832 Michael Faraday discovered that a potential difference is generated between the ends of an electrical conductor that moves perpendicular to a magnetic field. The cities of York and Derby in England are also reputed to be a center of ghostly manifestations; consequently, they both thrive on hugely successful ghost tour industries. Electrostatic generators are inefficient and are useful only for scientific experiments requiring high voltages. Several other ghosts are said to make the Tower their home; phantom troops of soldiers reportedly appear there, as well as a lady in mourning with no face. The Van de Graaff generator uses either of two mechanisms:. It seems likely that the building with the most distinguished ghosts as rumored tenants is the Tower of London, which is reported to be haunted by:. The Wimshurst machine used electrostatic induction or "influence". The earliest literature to rationally discuss the issue comes from the Chinese philosopher, Mo Tzu (470-391 BC).

Before the connection between magnetism and electricity was discovered, generators used electrostatic principles. Certain images such as paintings and movies might "program" a person to automatically associate a certain structure or area as haunted because of what he has seen in the movies. . Many people exaggerate their interpretation of their own perceptions, either when visiting a place they believe to be haunted, or when visiting a site which they know has seen unpleasant historical events. The process is known as electricity generation. Psychological factors may also relate to ghost sightings. An electrical generator is a device that produces electrical energy from a mechanical energy source. Often, videos of paranormal investigators will show them using E-field or B-field detectors and finding "ghostly" results near wall outlets and electrical appliances.

Generator Facts. Sometimes ghosts are associated with electromagnetic disturbances, which suggests that they might be attributable to the electromagnetic field and not to a presently dead person. Electus Distribution Reference Data Sheet: Impedance Matching Primer (PDF). Also, sound waves with frequencies lower than 20 hertz are called infrasound; they are formally inaudible, but British scientists Richard Lord and Richard Wiseman have concluded that infrasound can cause humans to feel a "presence" in the room, or unexplained feelings of anxiety or dread.[1]. Patent 447921 -- Alternating Electric Current Generator - Tesla's generator that produces alterations of 15000 per second or more. Any random motion outside the focused view can create a strong illusion of an eerie figure. U.S. Also, the peripheral vision is very sensitive to motion, but does not contain much color or focused shapes.

Patent 447920 -- Method of Operating Arc-Lamps - Tesla's alternating current generator of high frequency alternations (or pulsations) above the auditory level. Ghosts are often associated with a chilling sensation, but a natural animal response to fear is hair raising, which can be mistaken for chill. U.S. Human physiology may make us more susceptible to ghost sightings. (Related to patents numbers US327797, US292077, and GB9013.). A society could have elaborate setups with members of that community playing ghosts. Patent 417794 -- Armature for Electric Machines -Tesla's construction principles of the armature for electrical generators and motors. It can also discourage new tenants from living in an apparently abandoned house.

U.S. For example, the telling of ghost stories might be a way for secluded communities to scare off intruders. Patent 406968 -- Dynamo Electric Machine - Tesla's "Unipolar" machine (i.e., a disk or cylindrical conductor is mounted in between magnetic poles adapted to produce a uniform magnetic field). Again, the reasons could be popularity and income; but fear might also factor into the motive. U.S. A hoax or con might also be getting played on the reporting person themselves. Patent 359748 -- Dynamo Electric Machine - Nikola Tesla's construction of the alternating current induction motor / generator. Also, a person might claim a haunting for personal popularity and income.

U.S. Ascribing such motives and powers to dead people could be interpreted as a scare tactic. Patent 373,584 -- Dynamo-Electric Machine : Edison's improved dynamo which includes an extra coil and ultilizes a field of force. For example, lingering of ghosts is typically associated with seeking justice or revenge. U.S. They might make up a haunting for a personal reason. It is inefficient. Occasionally, the sincerity and motive of the claimant will be questioned.

This device has large bipolar magnets. They are also keen to note that most ghost sightings happen when our senses are impaired, and that the evidence is unreliable because it doesn't occur when we have full use of our faculties. The device's nickname was the "long-legged Mary-Ann". They may suggest that, since few to none of us have ever had an interpersonal relationship with a ghost, but most or all of us have had an experience of self-delusion or have attributed a false cause to an event, that these options should be preferred in the absence of a great abundance of evidence. Patent 222,881 -- Magneto-Electric Machines : Thomas Edison's main continuous current dynamo. Skeptics often explain ghost sightings with the principle of Occam's razor, which argues that explanations should maximize parsimony with the rest of our knowledge. U.S. For example, the vast majority of the scientific community believes that ghosts, as well as other supernatural and paranormal entities, do not exist.

Calculate the generator's AC internal resistance RGAC from the following formula:. While some accept ghosts as a reality, many others are skeptical of the existence of ghosts. Measure the load resistance RL, if you don't already know it. Asuras are also referred to as "fighting ghosts". This is the on-load voltage VL. Sentient beings in that realm are referred to as hungry ghosts because of their attachment to this world. Connect the load as shown in the diagram, and measure the voltage across it with the generator running. Buddhist Samsara includes the concept of the hungry ghost realm.

This is the open-circuit voltage VG. They often wear the sort of clothing in which they would have been seen when alive. Before connecting the load RL, measure the voltage across the generator's terminals. Such places are known as "haunted"; the rounds they go on are known as "hauntings". Start the generator. They may wander around places they frequented when alive or where they died. This is its DC internal resistance RGDC. Both the West and the East share some fundamental beliefs about ghosts.

Before starting the generator, measure the resistance across its terminals using an ohmmeter. How ghosts fit into this worldview is shown here. Charge created by the triboelectric effect using the separation of two insulators (the belt leaving the lower pulley). Very detailed information about ghosts is given in Garuda Purana, a scripture from Vedic (Hindu) tradition. Charge transferred from a high-voltage electrode. During the time of feast, those relatives amongst the living are not allowed to leave their bedrooms regardless of how much noise the ghost makes. An older ritual is for the living family to prepare a grand feast for their dead relatives "returning" home.

The ritual consists of burning Hell Bank Notes and other luxury items made of paper mache as well as pouring wine three times on their grave and leaving food. Also in China, particularly in the Guangzhou area, the Chinese people usually hold a Chinese version of Day of the dead ritual for their ancestors in autumn. The victims of such paranormal "murders" are called tìsíguǐ (替死鬼), literally "substitute death ghost" or "substitute devil" which in Chinese is a synonym for scapegoat. The Chinese also believe that some ghosts, especially those who died of drowning, kill people in order to rob them of their rights to reincarnation.

In Chinese tradition, apart from being reincarnated, a ghost can also become immortal and become a demigod, or it can go to hell and suffer for eternity, or it can die again and become "ghost of ghost". Exorcists can either help a ghost to be driven away or reincarnated. Ghosts are those souls that refused to be "recycled" because they have unfinished business, similar to those in the West. In Asian cultures (such as China), many people believe in reincarnation.

However, it may be possible that enough of a dead person's psyche might be imprinted on an environment so as to give the likeness of thought or autonomy. Theories from this approach often encounter difficulties in explaining ghosts that appear to be sentient, such as those which answer questions or react to specific actions from people present. This way of thinking classifies ghosts in the same category of preternatural unexplained phenomena as poltergeists/telekinesis, ESP, and telepathy. They assert that traumatic events (such as a murder or suicide) cause mental energy to be released into the world, where it may be experienced by other people who are sensitive to its presence.

Those who follow this approach most often believe that ghosts are not actual disembodied souls or spirits, but rather they are impressions of psychic energy left behind by a deceased (or in some rare cases, still living) person. Some ghost researchers approach the possibility of ghosts from a more scientific standpoint, seeking to find correlations and causal relationships between recordable phenomena and the supposed presence of ghosts. It is worth noting that while mainstream Protestants and Evangelical Christians believe in the existence of principalities, they do not believe in ghosts (as spiritual manifestations of the dead) and would generally attribute more violent ghosts, such as poltergeists, to the actions of demons. It is sometimes held that ghosts reside in Limbo, a place, according to nonorthodox Catholic doctrine, between Heaven and Hell where the souls of unbaptized infants go.

Criminals sometimes supposedly linger to avoid Purgatory or Hell. The inability to find rest is often explained by unfinished business, such as a victim seeking justice or revenge after death. In the West, those who believe in ghosts sometimes hold them to be souls that could not find rest after death, and so linger on Earth. Sometimes they do not manifest themselves visually but in terms of other phenomena, such as the movements of an object, spontaneous throwing of a light switch, noises, etc., which supposedly have no natural explanation.

Ghosts do not have a physical body like human beings, but only a subtle astral body. Ghosts are often depicted of a human size and shape (although some accounts also mention animal ghosts), but typically described as "silvery", "shadowy", "semitransparent", "misty" or "fog-like." Parapsychologists refer to the "substance" of which ghosts and other spirits are made of as "ectoplasm". . Every culture in the world carries stories about ghosts, but they vary across time and place, with disagreements both as to what ghosts are and whether they are just figments of imagination or a part of reality.

According to some beliefs, a ghost may be the personality of a person after his or her death, and not tied directly to the soul or spirit. It is often thought to be a manifestation of the spirit or soul of a person which has remained on Earth after death. A ghost is an alleged non-corporeal manifestation of a dead person (or, rarely, an animal). Norman Leslie, a fallen World War 1 soldier who appeared when his great niece was looking for a missing document that proved that Castle Leslie belonged to her family.

Barquest, a giant spectral dog believed by the French to haunt graveyards. A troupe of ghosts who allegedly reenact the execution of Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury;. The ghost of Sir Walter Raleigh;. The ghost of Lady Jane Grey;.

The ghosts of King Edward V of England and Richard, Duke of York, the "Princes in the Tower";. The ghost of Thomas Becket, which allegedly appeared during the construction of the Traitor's Gate;. The headless ghost of Anne Boleyn;.