ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cogging torque

Cogging torque is when a motor feels like it is "sticking" or "jumping" a little bit when it is turned on, because of the way the motor is designed.

Think of a toy wind-up car. When you wind it up and let it go, it kind of "jumps" a little bit before smoothing out and rolling forward. That's similar to what happens with a motor that has cogging torque.

The reason why this happens is because the magnets inside the motor are arranged in a specific way, and they interact with the metal parts of the motor in a certain way when electricity is applied. This causes the motor to feel like it's sticking or jumping a bit at first, before it smooths out and runs more smoothly.

Cogging torque can be a problem in certain applications where smooth operation is really important, like robotics or precision machinery. But for most other applications, it's not a big deal and doesn't affect the performance of the motor too much.
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