Alternating Current For Kids

Direct vs alternating current whereas the familiar battery symbol is used as a generic symbol for any dc voltage source the circle with the wavy line inside is the generic symbol for any ac voltage source.

Alternating current for kids. As a result the voltage level also reverses along with the current. Ac is used to deliver power to houses office buildings etc. Alternating current ac flow of electric charge that periodically reverses. An alternating current ac is an electric current of which magnitude and direction vary unlike direct current whose direction remains constant.

The other is alternating current which is a stream of charges that reverses direction. Ac can be produced using a device called an alternator. Alternating current definition is an electric current that reverses its direction at regularly recurring intervals abbreviation ac. Scientists such as charles proteus steinmetz and nikola tesla made great advances when ac power was just a science experiment.

Some other countries use 50 hertz as the standard frequency. Flowing back and forth charges electrons must always be flowing to have a current. Alternating current ac alternating current describes the flow of charge that changes direction periodically. In the united states the frequency at which the current alternates is 60 hertz.

Learn more about the difference between ac and direct current dc. Alternating current is the form in which electric power is delivered to businesses and residences and it is the form of electrical energy that consumers typically use when they plug kitchen. Direct current dc is a constant flow from negative to positive while alternating current ac flows in a wave pattern that vibrates at a specific hertz meaning that it cycles from negative to. An alternating current ac is an electric current of which magnitude and direction vary unlike direct current whose direction remains constant this means that the direction of current flowing in a circuit is constantly being reversed back and forth.

Either as a voltage switching polarity or as a current switching direction back and forth this kind of electricity is known as alternating current ac. Alternating current is mostly used today to transmit power on power lines. It starts from zero grows to a maximum decreases to zero reverses reaches a maximum in the opposite direction returns again to the original value and repeats this cycle. The usual waveform of an ac power circuit is a sine wave because this leads to the most efficient transmission of energy however in certain applications different waveforms are used such as triangular or square waves.

This is done with any type of ac voltage source.