Most electrical motors are induction based.

They work either through the flow of electricity or turing a magnet.

Waterfalls and windmills work by turning a magnet. Waterfalls tend to have even power, but windmills have odd erratic power based on the wind.

The driving force that turns the rotor containing the magnets is called the "Prime Mover"

Generators work by supplying current that drives a turbine.

Induction based motors work on AC and spinning magnets.

One of the problems of induction based motors is most of their power is reactive (caught in a magnetic field). Capacitors are required to make the power real. It is common in induction based generators to have a bank of variable capacitors to try to keep the power as real as possible.