What is the difference between alternating current and direct current? What's up Engineering Lovers. My name is Igor Felipe and today we are going to talk about a topic of basic electricity .
What is Alternating Current, or AC and what is Direct Current, or DC. This is a common question among the general population, which is a little lost in relation to this concept. After all, who has never heard anyone talk about the "negative" or "positive" of an outlet?
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Alternating current, also known as AC, is an electrical current, which is nothing more than a flow of electrons that reverses its direction many times per second at regular intervals. This is the form of current that is used as source in many countries around the world. If you are watching this video on a computer, know that the current that is available there in the outlet is AC.
The standard current used in places like Brazil oscillates 60 times per second, so we say that it has a frequency of 60 Hz. In Europe, for example, the alternating current usually has a frequency of 50 Hz, that is, it oscillates 50 times per second. When we say that it oscillates, it means that it completes a cycle.
Meaning, it starts from 0, reaches its positive peak, then heads to its negative peak and reaches 0 again. But, Igor, and the direct current, what is it? Direct current, or DC, is another form of electrical current that consistently flows in a single direction, hence the name.
Technically, it is defined as a constant flow of electrons from an area of high electron density to an area of low electron density, or from a greater energy potential to a lower energy potential. DC - Direct Current is used in any battery powered electronic devices you can imagine. So if you're watching this video on your mobile phone, or on a notebook, know that what's in the battery is direct current.
But why do we use direct current in some applications and alternating in others? One of the biggest advantages of alternating current over direct current is that it is relatively inexpensive to transform the voltage level to suit the various types of application. We can transform high voltage from 138kV, 230kV or even 500kV of transmission, to 13.
8kV for distribution in cities and finally, transform to 127V or 220V for powering our homes. Alternating current is also better suited to transmit electric current over long distances when compared to direct current, as energy losses are less. Direct current is suitable for electrical energy storage systems, whether by batteries or battery banks and is also a way used to charge batteries.
Therefore, rechargeable devices like laptops and cell phones come with an adapter that converts alternating current into direct current to charge your batteries. There are other, more specific, direct current applications, for example in industries where the production process requires fine speed and torque control of the motors. And who invented alternating current?
Alternating current was first demonstrated by Hippolyte Pixii in 1832. Called an alternator, the Pixii machine was based on the principles of electromagnetic induction developed by Michael Faraday. Pixii would later add a switch to his device to produce direct current instead of alternating current.
The first practical application of alternating current was made by Guillaume Duchenne in 1850. Developed for electrotherapy, Duchenne believed that alternating current was superior to direct current for electrotherapeutic activation of muscles. The alternating current was further refined throughout the second half of 1800 by the works of William Thomson, Charles Steinmetz and Galileo Ferraris.
Other elements of an alternating current system, such as the generator, transformer and power transmission systems, were developed by a number of engineers from many different countries. A notable example is, of course, Nikola Tesla, whose work in the transmission of AC power would be crucial in the mass adoption of this system today. And who invented direct current?
Although Thomas Edison is commonly cited as the inventor of direct current, the honors should probably go to an Italian physicist named Alessandro Volta. Its voltaic cell, one of the first batteries, was the first device in history to produce direct current. However, the first widespread application of direct current for practical use was in electrical lighting.
Shortly after developing his first practical incandescent lamp, Thomas Edison sought to find a way to develop a complete energy generation and distribution system to allow his lamps to be used on a large scale. To that end, Edison and his company GE installed their first system at Pearl Street Station in downtown Manhattan. With the system, they managed to supply some city blocks with electricity, mainly for artificial lighting.
Nowadays, the application of these two forms of chain has several applications. If you want a video we talk about applications of these two types of current. Leave us comments here.
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