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 An
alternating current generator, or AC
generator, produces an alternating
current, which means the voltage
produced alternately reverses from
positive to negative polarity, producing a
corresponding change in the direction of
current flow.


Much like a DC generator, an AC generator requires a
coil to cut across the force lines of a magnetic field.
This coil is attached to two slip rings, which deliver
the current to and from the load destination, thus
completing the circuit. Alternating current generators
are often called alternators.
During the first half turn, the coil cuts across the field
near the magnet's north pole. Electrons travel up the
wire, and the lower slip ring becomes positively
charged. When the coil cuts near the South Pole of the
wire during the second half turn, the lower slip ring
becomes negatively charged, and electrons move down
the wire. The faster the coil turns, the faster the
electrons move, increasing the frequency (in Hertz) of
the current produced by the generator.