AC and DC current

Blog number:-011

Hello Everyone,

Very good morning to all of you, I hope you all will be fine.

          Today, we are going to start Some basics concepts in Electrical and electronics Field. And before starting the main series of blogs, let us discuss today about types of signal in Electrical and Electronics that we generally use. There are particularly  two types of signal that we use in our life(either in form of live wire or in form of storage form). i.e 1) AC and, 2) DC.

       So, before discussing the AC and DC Currents. let us have a short discussion on Voltage and Electric Current.Voltage is the pressure from an electrical circuit's power source that pushes charged electrons (current) through a conducting loop, enabling them to do work.An electric current is a flow of electric charge.

So, let us now discuss about AC and DC.

AC Current(Alternating Current)

    Alternating current describes the flow of charge that changes direction periodically. As a result, the voltage level also reverses along with the current. AC is used to deliver power to houses, office buildings, etc.

AC  has some useful properties, such as being able to convert voltage levels with a single component (a transformer).

Generating AC

      AC can be produced using a device called an alternator(used in power plants) and Electric Generator(used for household purpose). This device is a special type of electrical generator designed to produce alternating current. The frequency of alternating current is 50Hz or 60Hz depending upon the country.

Waveform

         AC can come in a number of forms(such ac Sine Wave, Square Wave, Triangle Wave), as long as the voltage and current are alternating. If we hook up an oscilloscope to a circuit with AC and plot its voltage over time, we might see a number of different waveform. The most common type of AC is the sine wave. The AC in most homes and offices have an oscillating voltage that produces a sine wave.

DC Current(Direct Current)

     DC provides a constant voltage or current and always flow in one direction(i.e. either in positive direction or in negative direction). DC is used to deliver power to Cell phones, Hybrid electric Vehicle  etc.

  DC  has not properties of being able to convert voltage levels with a single component like AC does.

The frequency of direct current is zero.

Generating DC

Dc cannot be generated directly and is always being converted from AC to DC. DC can be generated in a number of ways:

• An AC generator equipped with a device called a “commutator” can produce direct current
• Use of a device called a “rectifier” that converts AC to DC
• Batteries provide DC, which is generated from a chemical reaction inside of the battery.

Waveform

     DC is defined as the “unidirectional” flow of current; current only flows in one direction. Voltage and current can vary over time so long as the direction of flow does not change. To simplify things, we will assume that voltage is a constant.

So, that's all for this session. If you have any problem regarding the topic, please feel free to comment.

Thank you 

Have a good day ahead.