ALTERNATING CURRENT Most students of electricity begin their study with what is known as direct current (DC), which

is electricity flowing in a constant direction, and/or possessing a voltage with constant polarity. DC is the kind of electricity made by a battery (with definite positive and negative terminals), or the kind of charge generated by rubbing certain types of materials against each other. As useful and as easy to understand as DC is, it is not the only kind of electricity in use. Certain sources of electricity (most notably, rotary electro-mechanical generators) naturally produce voltages alternating in polarity, reversing positive and negative over time. 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): Figure below

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. One might wonder why anyone would bother with such a thing as AC. It is true that in some cases AC holds no practical advantage over DC. In applications where electricity is used to dissipate energy in the form of heat, the polarity or direction of current is irrelevant, so long as there is enough voltage and current to the load to produce the desired heat (power dissipation). However, with AC it is possible to build electric generators, motors and power distribution systems that are far more efficient than DC, and so we find AC used predominately across the world in high power applications. To explain the details of why this is so, a bit of background knowledge about AC is necessary. If a machine is constructed to rotate a magnetic field around a set of stationary wire coils with the turning of a shaft, AC voltage will be produced across the wire coils as that shaft is rotated, in accordance with Faraday's Law of electromagnetic induction. This is the basic operating principle of an AC generator, also known as an alternator: Figure below

Alternator operation Notice how the polarity of the voltage across the wire coils reverses as the opposite poles of the rotating magnet pass by. Connected to a load, this reversing voltage polarity will create a reversing current direction in the circuit. The faster the alternator's shaft is turned, the faster the magnet will spin, resulting in an alternating voltage and current that switches directions more often in a given amount of time. While DC generators work on the same general principle of electromagnetic induction, their construction is not as simple as their AC counterparts. With a DC generator, the coil of wire is mounted in the shaft where the magnet is on the AC alternator, and electrical connections are made to this spinning coil via stationary carbon brushes contacting copper strips on the rotating shaft. All this is necessary to switch the coil's changing output polarity to the external circuit so the external circuit sees a constant polarity: Figure below

DC generator operation The generator shown above will produce two pulses of voltage per revolution of the shaft, both pulses in the same direction (polarity). In order for a DC generator to produce constant voltage, rather than brief pulses of voltage once every 1/2 revolution, there are multiple sets of coils making intermittent contact with the brushes. The diagram shown above is a bit more simplified than what you would see in real life. The problems involved with making and breaking electrical contact with a moving coil should be obvious (sparking and heat), especially if the shaft of the generator is revolving at high speed. If the atmosphere surrounding the machine contains flammable or explosive vapors, the practical problems of spark-producing brush contacts are even greater. An AC generator (alternator) does not require brushes and commutators to work, and so is immune to these problems experienced by DC generators. The benefits of AC over DC with regard to generator design is also reflected in electric motors. While DC motors require the use of brushes to make electrical contact with moving coils of wire, AC motors do not. In fact, AC and DC motor designs are very similar to their generator counterparts (identical for the sake of this tutorial), the AC motor being dependent upon the reversing magnetic field produced by alternating current through its stationary coils of wire to rotate the rotating magnet around on its shaft, and the DC motor being dependent on the brush contacts making and breaking connections to reverse current through the rotating coil every 1/2 rotation (180 degrees). So we know that AC generators and AC motors tend to be simpler than DC generators and DC motors. This relative simplicity translates into greater reliability and lower cost of manufacture.

But what else is AC good for? Surely there must be more to it than design details of generators and motors! Indeed there is. There is an effect of electromagnetism known as mutual induction, whereby two or more coils of wire placed so that the changing magnetic field created by one induces a voltage in the other. If we have two mutually inductive coils and we energize one coil with AC, we will create an AC voltage in the other coil. When used as such, this device is known as a transformer: Figure below

Transformer transforms AC voltage and current. The fundamental significance of a transformer is its ability to step voltage up or down from the powered coil to the unpowered coil. The AC voltage induced in the unpowered (secondary) coil is equal to the AC voltage across the powered (primary) coil multiplied by the ratio of secondary coil turns to primary coil turns. If the secondary coil is powering a load, the current through the secondary coil is just the opposite: primary coil current multiplied by the ratio of primary to secondary turns. This relationship has a very close mechanical analogy, using torque and speed to represent voltage and current, respectively: Figure below

Speed multiplication gear train steps torque down and speed up. Step-down transformer steps voltage down and current up. If the winding ratio is reversed so that the primary coil has less turns than the secondary coil, the transformer steps up the voltage from the source level to a higher level at the load: Figure below

Speed reduction gear train steps torque up and speed down. Step-up transformer steps voltage up and current down. The transformer's ability to step AC voltage up or down with ease gives AC an advantage unmatched by DC in the realm of power distribution in figure below. When transmitting electrical power over long distances, it is far more efficient to do so with stepped-up voltages and stepped-down currents (smaller-diameter wire with less resistive power losses), then step the voltage back down and the current back up for industry, business, or consumer use.

Transformers enable efficient long distance high voltage transmission of electric energy. Transformer technology has made long-range electric power distribution practical. Without the ability to efficiently step voltage up and down, it would be cost-prohibitive to construct power systems for anything but close-range (within a few miles at most) use. As useful as transformers are, they only work with AC, not DC. Because the phenomenon of mutual inductance relies on changing magnetic fields, and direct current (DC) can only produce steady magnetic fields, transformers simply will not work with direct current. Of course, direct current may be interrupted (pulsed) through the primary winding of a transformer to create a changing magnetic field (as is done in automotive ignition systems to produce high-voltage spark plug power from a low-voltage DC battery), but pulsed DC is not that different from AC. Perhaps more than any other reason, this is why AC finds such widespread application in power systems.

DIRECT CURRENT (DC) is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is
produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even through a vacuum as in electron or ion beams. The electric charge flows in a constant direction, distinguishing it from alternating current (AC). A term formerly used for direct current was galvanic current.[1]

Types of direct current. Direct current may be obtained from an alternating current supply by use of a current-switching arrangement called a rectifier, which contains electronic elements (usually) or electromechanical elements (historically) that allow current to flow only in one direction. Direct current may be made into alternating current with an inverter or a motor-generator set. The first commercial electric power transmission (developed by Thomas Edison in the late nineteenth century) used direct current. Because of the significant advantages of alternating current over direct current in transforming and transmission, electric power distribution is nearly all alternating current today. In the mid 1950s, HVDC transmission was developed, and is now an option instead of long-distance high voltage alternating current systems. For applications requiring direct current, such as third rail power systems, alternating current is distributed to a substation, which utilizes a rectifier to convert the power to direct current. See War of Currents. Direct current is used to charge batteries, and in nearly all electronic systems, as the power supply. Very large quantities of direct-current power are used in production of aluminum and other electrochemical processes. Direct current is used for some railway propulsion, especially in urban areas. High-voltage direct current is used to transmit large amounts of power from remote generation sites or to interconnect alternating current power grids. Direct Current (DC) is the constant flow of Electric Charge from high to low Potential. In the history of electrical science, conventional Current was defined as a flow of Positive Charge. A Direct Current circuit is a circuit that Electric Current flows through in one direction. DC is commonly found in many low-voltage applications, especially where these are powered by Battery. Most electronic circuits require a DC power supply. A Direct Electric Current flows only when the Electric Circuit is closed, but it stops completely when the circuit is open.

A Switch is a device for making or breaking an Electric Circuit. While the Switch is closed, Figure 1(a), the circuit is closed and the Light Bulb turns On; while the Switch is opened, Figure 1(b), the circuit is open and the Light Bulb turns Off.

Figure 1(a): Switch is closed, the circuit is closed and the Light Bulb turns On

Figure 1(b): Switch is opened, the circuit is open and the Light Bulb turns Off According to Ohms Law: the Current I in a (ideal) Resistor (or other ohmic device) is proportional to the applied Voltage V and inversely proportional to the Resistance R. Ohms Law: I = V / R In other words, for a fixed Resistance (R), the greater the Voltage (V) across a Resistor, the more the Current (I) flowing through it; for a fixed Voltage across a Resistor, the more the Resistance of the Resistor, the less the Current flowing through it. In Figure 2, a Resistor is added to the Direct Current Circuit, the total Resistance (R) of the circuit becomes larger but the Power Supply Voltage (V) remains unchanged, therefore, the Current (I) flowing through the circuit is reduced. With less Current flowing through, the Light Bulb becomes dimmer.

Figure 2: The Circuit contains a Battery, a Light Bulb, a Resistor and a Switch

Various definitions
Within electrical engineering, the term DC is used to refer to power systems that use only one polarity of voltage or current, and to refer to the constant, zero-frequency, or slowly varying local mean value of a voltage or current.[2] For example, the voltage across a DC voltage source is constant as is the current through a DC current source. The DC solution of an electric circuit is the solution where all voltages and currents are constant. It can be shown that any stationary voltage or current waveform can be decomposed into a sum of a DC component and a zero-mean time-varying component; the DC component is defined to be the expected value, or the average value of the voltage or current over all time. Although DC stands for "direct current", DC often refers to "constant polarity". Under this definition, DC voltages can vary in time, as seen in the raw output of a rectifier or the fluctuating voice signal on a telephone line. Some forms of DC (such as that produced by a voltage regulator) have almost no variations in voltage, but may still have variations in output power and current.

Applications
Direct-current installations usually have different types of sockets, switches, and fixtures, mostly due to the low voltages used, from those suitable for alternating current. It is usually important with a direct-current appliance not to reverse polarity unless the device has a diode bridge to correct for this (most battery-powered devices do not).

This symbol is found on many electronic devices that either require or produce direct current.

DC is commonly found in many low-voltage applications, especially where these are powered by batteries, which can produce only DC, or solar power systems, since solar cells can produce only DC. Most automotive applications use DC, although the alternator is an AC device which uses a rectifier to produce DC. Most electronic circuits require a DC power supply. Applications using fuel cells (mixing hydrogen and oxygen together with a catalyst to produce electricity and water as byproducts) also produce only DC. Many telephones connect to a twisted pair of wires, and internally separate the AC component of the voltage between the two wires (the audio signal) from the DC component of the voltage between the two wires (used to power the phone). Telephone exchange communication equipment, such as DSLAM, uses standard -48V DC power supply. The negative polarity is achieved by grounding the positive terminal of power supply system and the battery bank. This is done to prevent electrolysis depositions.

Series and parallel resistors

Figure 1Two resistors connected in series. The drawing (a) is equivalent to the schematic (b). Because there is only one pathway for the charges, the current is the same at any point in the circuit, that is, I = I1 = I2. The potential difference supplied by the battery equals the potential drop over R1 and the potential drop over R2. Thus,

When resistors are in series, the equivalent resistance is the sum of the individual resistances. Compare this result with adding capacitors in series. For series resistors, the current is the same; while for series capacitors, the charge is the same. (Note that the equivalent resistance is a simple sum, but the equivalent capacitance is given by a reciprocal expression.)

The parallel connection for two resistors ( R1 and R2) is shown in Figure 2 . What is the equivalent resistance for this combination?

Figure 2Two resistors connected in parallel. The drawing (a) is equivalent to the schematic (b). At point a for the circuit diagramsee Figure 2 (b)the current branches so that part of the total current in the circuit goes through the upper branch and part through the lower branch. The potential drop of the current is the same regardless of which path is taken; therefore, the voltage difference is the same over either resistor ( V batt = V1 = V2). The currents sum to the total current:

from Ohm's law,

therefore,

Thus, the reciprocal of the equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of the individual resistors in the parallel combination. Compare this result with adding capacitors in parallel. For parallel resistors, the voltages across the resistors are equal, and the same is true for parallel capacitors. (Note that the equivalent resistance is a reciprocal expression, but the equivalent capacitance for parallel combination is a simple sum.)

Kirchhoff's rules
If a circuit has several batteries in the branches of multiloop circuits, the analysis is greatly simplified by using Kirchhoff's rules, which are forms of conservation laws:

The sum of the currents entering a junction must equal the sum of the currents leaving the junction. This rule, sometimes called the junction rule, is a statement of conservation of charge. Because charge neither builds up at any place in the circuit nor leaves the circuit, the charge entering a point must also leave that point. The algebraic sum of the drops in potential across each element around any loop must equal the algebraic sum of the emfs around any loop. This rule expresses conservation of energy. In other words, the charge moving around any loop must gain as much energy from batteries as it loses when going through resistors.

When applying Kirchhoff's rules, use consistent sign conventions. Refer to the directions selected for the currents in Figure 3 . Fewer mistakes will be made if one direction is consistently

usedfor example, clockwise in all loops. If an incorrect direction for one current is selected initially, the solution for that current will be negative. Use the following sign conventions when applying the loop rule:

If the resistor is traveled in the direction of the current, the change in potential is negative, and if traveled opposite to the selected direction of the current, it is positive. If a source of emf is traveled in the direction of the emf (from to + between the terminals), then the change in potential is positive, and if traveled opposite to the direction of the emf, it is negative.

Check the equations for Figure 3 .