Armature

The armature is a main electrical component of an electric motor or generator. In addition to the winding or magnets. The armature, in contrast, must carry current or EMF (usually both), so it is always a conductor or a conductive coil, oriented normal to both the field and to the direction of motion, torque (rotating machine), or force (linear machine). The role of the "field" component is simply to create a magnetic field (magnetic flux) for the armature to interact with, so this component can comprise either permanent magnets, or electromagnets formed by a conducting coil.

The armature's role is two-fold: (a) to carry current crossing the field, thus creating shaft torque (in a rotating machine) or force (in a linear machine), and (b) to generate an electromotive force ("EMF"). In the armature, an electromotive force ("EMF") is created by the relative motion of the armature and the field. When the machine is acting as a motor, this EMF opposes the armature current, and the armature converts electrical power to mechanical torque (and power, unless the machine is stalled) and transfers it to the load via the shaft. When the machine is acting as a generator, the armature EMF drives the armature current, and shaft mechanical power is converted to electrical power and transferred to the load. In an induction generator, these distinctions are blurred, since the generated power is drawn from the stator, which would normally be considered the field.