After
reading this section you will be able to do
the following:
Define
what AC stands for and what it means.
Explain
how AC is created and delivered to different places.
Discuss
the differences between AC and DC.
AC is short for alternating
current. This means that the direction of current flowing
in a circuit is constantly being reversed back and forth. This
is done with any type of AC current/voltage source.
The electrical current in your house
is alternating current. This comes from power plants that are
operated by the electric company. Those big wires you see stretching
across the countryside are carrying AC current from the power
plants to the loads, which are in our homes and businesses. The
direction of current is switching back and forth 60 times each
second.
This is a series circuit using an
AC source of electricity. Notice that the light bulb still lights
but the electron current is constantly reversing directions. The
change in direction of the current flow happens so fast that the
light bulb does not have a chance to stop glowing. The light bulb
does not care if it is using DC or AC current. The circuit is
delivering energy to the light bulb from the source, which, in
this case, is a power plant.
Review
AC,
or alternating current means the electrical current is alternating
directions in a repetitive pattern.
AC is
created by generators in power plants, and other sources. This
AC current is delivered to our homes and businesses by the power
lines we see everywhere.
The frequency
of repetition of this current is 60 Hertz. This means the direction
of the current changes sixty times every second.
