An automotive alternative produces electricity at all times when rotating. What happens to excess energy in the operation of an engine? Is it shunted somewhere? If so, where?
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trketed
ANSWERS: 3
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I'll rate this question 4.3 on the Richter scale... alternative - did you mean alternator? Gas gets adjusted to meet needs. More gas/more energy = more speed - the energy used overcomes friction in moving parts and wind/rolling resistance.
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I'll take a stab at the electrical aspect of the question: The voltage regulator, which feeds and meters the amount of voltage INTO the alternator, operates on the basis of the "need" for more/less voltage back to the battery and thus all of the electrical devices operating at a given time. The alternator does not necessarily produce electricity whenever it rotates. There must be input voltage. Input voltage is what makes the rotor magnetic; the magnetized rotor, moving past the windings in the stator, generates electron excitation in the stator, thus producing alternating current, which, in turn, travels through the rectifier (changing the AC current to DC) before outputting to the car's electrical system. At the risk of being redundant, that input voltage will vary with the load. If the load is light, then more of the engine's power can be used to drive the car down the road. Usually, not wanting to speed (and also happily oblivious to the functioning of the alternator) we inadvertently respond to this uptick in power by lifting our right foot.
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An alternator will not produce current all the time when rotationg...It has to has to have a voltage to excite the circuit. The voltage regulator cut-out relay opens when there is no need for current until demand exceeds the voltage setting then it closes and current again flows into the battery. This is only a very simple explination; there is more to it than just this.
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