Question

Suppose you find that the belt drive connecting a powerful motor to an air conditioning unit is broken, and the motor is running freely. Should you be worried that the motor is consuming a great deal of energy for no useful purpose? Explain why or why not.

a) Yes, the motor is likely consuming excessive energy as it runs freely.

b) No, the motor consumes less energy when running freely.

c) It depends on the type of motor and its efficiency.

d) The energy consumption of the motor is unrelated to the broken belt.

Answer 1

No, the motor consumes less energy when running freely. The broken belt does not directly affect the motor's energy consumption.

Step-by-step explanation:

If the belt drive connecting a powerful motor to an air conditioning unit is broken and the motor is running freely, you should not be worried that the motor is consuming a great deal of energy for no useful purpose. The energy consumption of the motor is unrelated to the broken belt.

When a motor runs freely without any mechanical load, it increases its angular velocity until the back electromotive force (back emf) is nearly equal to the driving electromotive force (driving emf). At this point, the motor uses only enough energy to overcome friction. Therefore, even though the motor may be running, it is not consuming excessive energy.

It's important to note that the energy consumption of a motor depends on various factors such as the type of motor and its efficiency. However, in the given scenario, the broken belt does not directly affect the energy consumption of the motor.