AC CURRENT

Alternating current is of vital importance in electronics for one simple reason: The electric
current you can access by plugging a circuit into a wall outlet happens to be alternating current.
Electric current that flows continuously in a single direction is called a direct current, or DC. In
a direct current circuit, current is caused by electrons that all line up and move in one direction.
Within a wire carrying direct current, electrons hop from atom to atom while moving in a single
direction. Thus, a given electron that starts its trek at one end of the wire will eventually end up
at the other end of the wire.
In alternating current, the electrons don't move in only one direction. Instead, they hop from
atom to atom in one direction for a while, and then turn around and hop from atom to atom in the
opposite direction. Every so often, the electrons change direction. In alternating current, the
electrons dont move steadily forward. Instead, they just move back and forth.
When the electrons in alternating current switch direction, the direction of current and the
voltage of the circuit reverses itself. In public power distribution systems in the United States,
(including household current), the voltage reverses itself 60 times per second. In some countries,
the voltage reverses itself 50 times per second.
The rate at which alternating current reverses direction is called its frequency, expressed in hertz.
Thus, standard household current in the United States is 60 Hz.
In an alternating current circuit, the voltage, and therefore the current, is always changing.
However, the voltage doesn't instantly reverse polarity. Instead, the voltage steadily increases
from zero until it reaches a maximum voltage, which is called the peak voltage.
Then, the voltage begins to decrease again back to zero. The voltage then reverses polarity and
drops below zero, again heading for the peak voltage but negative polarity. When it reaches the
peak negative voltage, it begins climbing back again until it gets to zero. Then the cycle repeats.
The swinging change of voltage is important because of the basic relationship between magnetic
fields and electric currents. When a conductor (such as a wire) moves through a magnetic field,
the magnetic field induces a current in the wire. But if the conductor is stationary relative to the
magnetic field, no current is induced.
Physical movement is not necessary to create this effect. If the conductor stays in a fixed position
but then intensity of the magnetic field increases or decreases (that is, if the magnetic field
expands or contracts), a current is induced in the conductor the same as if the magnetic field
were fixed and the conductor was physically moving across the field.
Because the voltage in an alternating current is always either increasing or decreasing as the
polarity swings from positive to negative and back again, the magnetic field that surrounds the
current is always either collapsing or expanding. So, if you place a conductor within this
expanding and collapsing magnetic field, alternating current will be induced in the conductor.
It seems like magic! With alternating current, it is possible for current in one wire to induce
current in an adjacent wire, even though there is no physical contact between the wires.
The bottom line is this: Alternating current can be used to create a changing magnetic field, and
changing magnetic fields can be used to create alternating current. This relationship between
alternating current and magnetic fields makes three important devices possible:
Alternator: A device that generates alternating current from a source of rotating motion,
such as a turbine powered by flowing water or steam or a windmill. Alternators work by
using the rotating motion to spin a magnet thats placed within a coil of wire. As the
magnet rotates, its magnetic field moves, which induces an alternating current in the
coiled wire.
Motor: The opposite of an alternator. It converts alternating current to rotating motion.
In its simplest form, a motor is simply an alternator thats connected backward. A magnet
is mounted on a shaft that can rotate; the magnet is placed within the turns of a coil of
wire.
When alternating current is applied to the coil, the rising and falling magnetic field
created by the current causes the magnet to spin, which turns the shaft.
Transformer: Consists of two coils of wire placed within close proximity. If an
alternating current is placed on one of the coils, the collapsing and expanding magnetic
field will induce an alternating current in the other coil.
The War of Currents
Thomas Edison, prolific inventor in the 19th and 20th centuries, holds the record for the
most U.S. patents by one person. When it came to technology, he was usually a winner.
But there was one important area where Edison lost, and lost badly. It was called the 'War
of Currents', and it pitted Edison and his support for direct current (DC) electricity
against engineers like George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla, who supported alternating
current (AC).

Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison
In the 1880's, incandescent lighting was the main goal, and DC was just as good as AC.
But a storm was brewing, and it centered about which type of power, AC or DC, would
be best for power generation, electric motors, and power transmission.
The war came to a head in 1893, when the contract to provide electricity to the Chicago
World's Fair was awarded to Westinghouse, whose proposal, using AC, came in over
30% cheaper than Edison's. In that same year, the Niagara Falls Power Company decided
to go with AC power generation for the city of Buffalo and signed with
Westinghouse/Tesla as well. These two major victories were part of the changes taking
place rapidly in the 1890's that set our country on a path toward AC power. Let's find out
why AC had the edge over DC.
Defining Alternating Current
Alternating current is simply the movement of electrical charge, through a medium, that
changes direction periodically. This is in contrast with direct current (DC), where the
movement of charge is only in one direction and is constant. Current (in amps) is a
measurement of the quantity of electrical charge that flows past a point in a certain
amount of time. Pushing the current is an electromotive force, called voltage (in volts). If
the current is alternating, then the voltage must also alternate, changing polarity on a
regular cycle. Here is the typical, sinusoidal, AC voltage in U.S. households, oscillating
at 60 Hz:

Typical household AC voltage
Advantages of AC over DC
1. Power transmission

High-voltage transmission lines
Early on, Tesla and Westinghouse realized that for electrical power to be practical, it had
to be efficiently transmitted over great distances. Hydroelectric power was an early
favorite, and suitable water power sources were sometimes hundreds of miles away from
the destination. Both AC and DC have power loss in long lines because of the resistance
in the wires. For a fixed power, higher voltage results in lower current through the power
line, and lower current means lower power line losses.
The early engineers realized that very high voltage was needed for efficient power
transmission. Today, long-haul power lines operate at voltages in excess of 300,000 volts
to minimize power loss! Using transformers, it is easy to boost AC voltage to these high
levels and then reverse the process at the consumer end. DC voltage does not work in a
transformer. Because of transformers, AC won out as the favorite for power transmission.
2. Power generation

Hydroelectric AC generators
One of the most important inventions of the late 1800's was the AC generator, which was
a simple design made practical by Westinghouse. Mechanical generation of DC is much
more complicated, and most DC today is generated by batteries, solar cells, fuel cells or
by converting AC to DC.
3. Power consumption

Cutaway view of Tesla induction motor
DC machines required brushes and commutators to operate, thus increasing complexity
and maintenance. Tesla patented the first practical AC induction motor, and General
Electric put an industrial version into production in the 1890's, the perfect companion to
the AC power already being generated. Very soon, these motors were installed across the
U.S. in factories, mines and shops. Today we use AC induction motors in our houses for
things like electric fans, air conditioning compressors, garbage disposers, etc. The
simplicity of AC motors, along with the ability to use AC power readily, makes them a
better choice than DC.
4. Lighting

Incandescent bulb and CFL
Incandescent lights (the type that Edison made practical) can operate on AC or DC, but
fluorescent lighting is a different story. Fluorescent lights use a gas, such as argon or
mercury vapor, that is excited by the presence of a high voltage. This excitation of the gas
creates light in the visible or ultraviolet spectrum. For a number of practical reasons, AC
is a better choice for the design and operation of fluorescent lights than DC. With today's
ever increasing move to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), the need for AC is even
greater.
5. Wireless

Cell phone antenna tower
Needless to say, wireless technologies would be impossible without alternating current.
All wireless communication uses a carrier, which is an electromagnetic wave that
oscillates at a very high frequency and is transmitted and received through an antenna.
This wave propagates through space for short distances (WIFI, cellular, etc.) or at
distances that can be staggering. The NASA Cassini probe, for example, must send data
and pictures from Saturn to the Earth, a distance of nearly a billion miles! DC, on the
other hand, is not suitable for wireless communication.

Cases Where DC is Better than AC
1. Portability
Anything that needs to be powered by a battery will usually be DC, not AC. Battery
technology has vastly improved, from the button cells that can power a digital watch for
years to the high energy, rechargeable automobile batteries that power today's electric
vehicles. Because of this, AC usually takes a back seat to DC in portable applications. A
notable exception is the Tesla automobile, which has a DC battery but uses an AC
induction motor.
2. Speed control
Three-phase and single-phase AC motors do not have a practical means for controlling
speed. The rotating magnetic field that drives an induction motor, for example, can only
be designed for discrete RPM values of 3600, 1800, 900 etc. based on motor
construction. DC motors, on the other hand, can be speed-controlled simply by varying
the input voltage.
3. Electronics
Most electronic devices (integrated circuits, solid state amplifiers, computers, etc.) run on
DC power. Although the power supplied may start out as AC (household current) it must
be converted to DC through a power supply. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are another
example. Technically speaking, a LED only radiates when current flows in one direction,
which is DC. Today's LEDs are made to operate with either AC or DC, but they are still
basically a DC technology.
4. Some Green Technologies
Solar cells and fuel cells are examples of green power generators that convert other forms
of energy to DC power. Wind power is the exception; wind turbines drive an AC
generator in the same way that hydroelectric AC power is generated.






Summary
Alternating current (AC) is the movement of electrical charge that changes direction
periodically. It is contrasted with direct current (DC), where the current flows in the
same direction and is constant. Like DC, it has voltage (in volts), which is the
electromotive force that pushes the charge, and current (in amps), which is a measure of
the quantity of charge moved per time. The AC voltage changes polarity with a
waveform that is typically a sinusoid, and in the U.S. its frequency is 60 Hertz.
AC has a number of advantages over DC, including large-scale power generation and
transmission, as well as power consumption in industrial and household motors. For
incandescent lighting, AC or DC in fine, but AC is more practical for compact
fluorescent light (CFL) applications. Another big advantage for AC is wireless, which
would not be possible otherwise.
DC has advantages over AC in applications where battery, solar or fuel cell power is
present. It also has the advantage of better motor speed control than AC. Finally, DC is
how most modern electronic devices are powered, including light emitting diodes
(LEDs).