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Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in which electric power is delivered to businesses and residences, and it is the form of electrical energy ...
Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3ϕ [1]) is a common type of alternating current (AC) used in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. [2] It is a type of polyphase system employing three wires (or four including an optional neutral return wire) and is the most common method used by electrical grids worldwide to transfer ...
In an electric circuit, instantaneous power is the time rate of flow of energy past a given point of the circuit. In alternating current circuits, energy storage elements such as inductors and capacitors may result in periodic reversals of the direction of energy flow. Its SI unit is the watt.
In electronics, other forms of electric current include the flow of electrons through resistors or through the vacuum in a vacuum tube, the flow of ions inside a battery, and the flow of holes within metals and semiconductors. A biological example of current is the flow of ions in neurons and nerves, responsible for both thought and sensory ...
Alternator. Alternators made in 1909 by Ganz Works in the power generating hall of a Russian hydroelectric station (photograph by Prokudin-Gorsky, 1911). [1] An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. [2] For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators ...
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through 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 current flows in a constant direction ...
One voltage cycle of a three-phase system. A polyphase system (the term coined by Silvanus Thompson) is a means of distributing alternating-current (AC) electrical power that utilizes more than one AC phase, which refers to the phase offset value (in degrees) between AC in multiple conducting wires; phases may also refer to the corresponding terminals and conductors, as in color codes.
Ground and neutral. In mains electricity, part of a circuit connected to ground or earth. A shorting bar connecting ground and neutral in Swiss industrial building (outlined in red). A hunk of copper is visible that is designed to be easily connected or disconnected from its place between two screws, rated for 600 A (as stamped on it).