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The usual waveform of alternating current in most electric power circuits is a sine wave, whose positive half-period corresponds with positive direction of the current and vice versa (the full period is called a cycle). "Alternating current" most commonly refers to power distribution, but a wide range of other applications are technically ...
In an alternating current (AC) electric power system, synchronization is the process of matching the frequency, phase and voltage of a generator or other source to an electrical grid in order to transfer power. If two unconnected segments of a grid are to be connected to each other, they cannot safely exchange AC power until they are synchronized.
In a simple alternating current (AC) circuit consisting of a source and a linear time-invariant load, both the current and voltage are sinusoidal at the same frequency. [3] If the load is purely resistive, the two quantities reverse their polarity at the same time. Hence, the instantaneous power, given by the product of voltage and current, is ...
Mains electricity, utility power, grid power, domestic power, wall power, household current, [2] or, in some parts of Canada, hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to homes and businesses through the electrical grid in many parts of the world. People use ...
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 ...
Alternating current is any current that reverses direction repeatedly; almost always this takes the form of a sine wave. [46]: 206–07 Alternating current thus pulses back and forth within a conductor without the charge moving any net distance over time. The time-averaged value of an alternating current is zero, but it delivers energy in first ...
In what is considered the first industrial use of alternating current in 1891, workers pose with a Westinghouse alternator at the Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant.This machine was used as a generator producing 3,000-volt, 133-hertz, single-phase AC, and an identical machine 3 miles (4.8 km) away was used as an AC motor.
Alternating current can also be converted to direct current through use of a rectifier. 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. An old name for direct current was galvanic current. [17]