The easiest way to convert kinetic energy into electricity is through electromagnetic induction. It was a humble bookbinder with a Dickensian life story who first discovered electromagnetic induction. Michael Faraday was born into a religious working-class family in central London and apprenticed to a bookbinder at age 13. Rising through a combination of luck, ambition, skill and fortitude in the face of social class snobbery, Faraday became one of the greatest experimentalists in the history of science.
Things You'll Need
12-inch-by-12-inch pegboard (non-metallic)
Copper wire, uninsulated
Cardboard Toilet paper roll, paper removed
Velcro cable tie, long enough to go through the toilet paper roll.
Two eye bolts; they must fit your pegboard
Two nuts
Bar magnet, small enough to fit inside the toilet paper roll
Electrical multimeter
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Instructions
1
With the additon of an empty toilet paper roll, the copper wire coil will be kept in place.
Wrap the copper wire evenly around the empty toilet paper roll until the entire roll is covered in one layer of wire. Be sure to leave a 6-inch length of wire at the start and finish of the coil.
2
Magnets induce electrical current in the copper coil.
Secure the coil to the particle board with a Velcro cable tie. Thread an eye bolt at either end of the secured toilet paper roll and secure each with a nut. Wrap the extra lengths of wire from the beginning and end of your coil to the closest eye bolt.
3
Use this to test for electromagnetic induction.
Pass the bar magnet in and out of the coil. You are now converting the kinetic energy of the moving magnet to electricity. Verify this by setting your multimeter to DC volts and touching the red lead to one of the eye bolts and the black lead to the other eye bolt while passing the bar magnet in and out of the coil. You will see the meter move with each thrust of the magnet.