Video narration
How does a fan keep turning when electricity itself cannot push the blades? Inside the fan, an electric motor changes electrical energy into rotation. Current travels through a wire loop in a magnetic field between a magnet's north and south poles. On opposite sides, current flows in opposite directions, so the magnetic field pushes them in opposite directions. That twist turns the loop and its axle. Carbon brushes feed current to a rotating split ring, connecting the loop to the circuit. But here's the catch: the first magnetic push cannot keep the loop turning by itself. After each half-turn, the split ring reverses the current in the loop. The pushes switch sides, but the axle keeps turning the same way. Push, reverse, push again-and the fan spins continuously. So electricity keeps a fan turning because the split ring reverses current every half-turn, keeping magnetic forces rotating its axle and blades.