This paper presents a complementary approach to the traditional Lorentz and Faraday approaches that
are typically adopted in the classroom when teaching the fundamentals of electrical machines—motors
and generators. The approach adopted is based upon the Poynting vector, which illustrates the ‘flow’
of electromagnetic energy. It is shown through simple vector analysis that the energy-flux density
flow approach can provide insight into the operation of electrical machines and it is also shown
that the results are in agreement with conventional Maxwell stress-based theory. The advantage of
this approach is its complementary completion of the physical picture regarding the
electromechanical energy conversion process—it is also a means of maintaining student interest in
this subject and as an unconventional application of the Poynting vector during normal study of
electromagnetism.