In alternating current (AC, also ac), the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current (DC, also dc), the flow of electric charge is only in one direction.
The abbreviations AC and DC are often used to mean simply alternating and direct, as when they modify current or voltage.
AC is the form in which electric power is delivered to businesses and residences. The usual waveform of an AC power circuit is a sine wave. In certain applications, different waveforms are used, such as triangular or square waves. Audio and radio signals carried on electrical wires are also examples of alternating current. In these applications, an important goal is often the recovery of information encoded (or modulated) onto the AC signal.
Read more about Alternating Current: History, Transmission, Distribution, and Domestic Power Supply, AC Power Supply Frequencies, Effects At High Frequencies, Mathematics of AC Voltages
Famous quotes containing the word current:
“I don’t see America as a mainland, but as a sea, a big ocean. Sometimes a storm arises, a formidable current develops, and it seems it will engulf everything. Wait a moment, another current will appear and bring the first one to naught.”
—Jacques Maritain (1882–1973)