Editing Electric generator (section)

{{Short description|Device that converts other energy to electrical energy}}
{{About|electromagnetic power generation|electrostatic generators like the Van de Graaff machine|Electrostatic generator|devices to convert photons into electricity|Photovoltaics{{!}}Photovoltaic panel}}

[[File:Modern Steam Turbine Generator.jpg|thumb|right|300px|U.S. [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission|NRC]] image of a modern steam turbine generator (STG).]]

In [[electricity generation]], a '''generator''', also called an ''electric generator'', ''electrical generator'', and ''electromagnetic generator'' is an electromechanical device that converts [[mechanical energy]] to [[electrical energy]] for use in an external [[electrical network|circuit]].<ref name="Sahdev">{{cite book
  | last = Sahdev
  | first = S. K.
  | title = Electrical Machines
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press
  | date = 2018
  | location = 
  | pages = 48
  | language = 
  | url = https://www.google.com/books/edition/Electrical_Machines/nk9bDwAAQBAJ
  | archive-url= 
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  | doi = 
  | id = 
  | isbn = 9781108431064
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  | jfm =}}</ref><ref name="Kamm">{{cite book
  | last = Kamm
  | first = Lawrence J. 
  | title = Understanding Electro-Mechanical Engineering: An Introduction to Mechatronics
  | publisher = John Wiley and Sons
  | date = 1995
  | location = 
  | pages = 67
  | language = 
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_8FrB5pMYQQC
  | archive-url= 
  | archive-date=
  | doi = 
  | id = 
  | isbn = 9780780310315
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  | jfm =}}</ref>  In most generators which are rotating machines, a source of kinetic power rotates the generator's shaft, and the generator produces an [[electric current]] at its output terminals which flows through an external circuit, powering [[electrical load]]s.  Sources of mechanical energy used to drive generators include [[steam turbine]]s, [[gas turbine]]s, [[water turbine]]s, [[internal combustion engine]]s, [[wind turbine]]s and even hand [[crank (mechanism)|crank]]s. Generators produce nearly all of the electric power for worldwide [[electric power grid]]s.  The first electromagnetic generator, the [[Faraday disk]], was invented in 1831 by British scientist [[Michael Faraday]].

The reverse conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy is done by an [[electric motor]], and motors and generators are very similar. Some motors can be used in a "backward" sense as generators, if their shaft is rotated they will generate electric power.

In addition to its most common usage for electromechanical generators described above, the term generator is also used for [[photovoltaic]], [[fuel cell]], and [[magnetohydrodynamic generator|magnetohydrodynamic]] powered devices that use [[solar power]] and chemical fuels, respectively, to generate electrical power.