system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: "Phases" of electrical power

What is the difference between single phase, two phase, three phase and four phase electrical current (are there more than four)? How does this relate to electrical motors?
gpt
These all seem above 5yo level, I'll take a stab...

Electricity is generated by spinning a magnet next to a wire.  As the magnet moves, it pushes electrons down the wire.  Since a magnet has a North and a South pole, as it spins it pushes the electrons one way as one pole rotates past and pushes them the other way when the other pole rotates past.  So the electrons are basically sloshing back and forth, like a wave in a bathtub.  This is called "alternating current" or AC because it is not a continuous flow, rather it alternates one way and then the other.  We are only generating one wave so far, so we call it "single phase".  
  
Now say we want more power.  We set up another magnet and spin it too, but we time it so that it's wave hits the end of the bathtub when the first wave it at the other end.  This is 2-phase power.  Waves that hit at the same time are "in-phase", our waves are at 2 different phases.  
  
Want more power?  Set up three magnets, and time them so the waves all hit in sequence, 1, 2, 3.  This is three-phase power.  You can do this as long as you want, but typically you don't go any higher than three phase.