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In other media, any stream of charged objects (ions, for example) may constitute an electric current. To provide a definition of current independent of the type of charge carriers, conventional current is defined as moving in the same direction as the positive charge flow. So, in metals where the charge carriers (electrons) are negative ...
"Alternating current" most commonly refers to power distribution, but a wide range of other applications are technically alternating current although it is less common to describe them by that term. In many applications, like guitar amplifiers , different waveforms are used, such as triangular waves or square waves .
These terms refer to how the current varies in time. Direct current, as produced by example from a battery and required by most electronic devices, is a unidirectional flow from the positive part of a circuit to the negative. [46]: 11 If, as is most common, this flow is carried by electrons, they will be travelling in the opposite direction.
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, distinguishing it from alternating current (AC). A term formerly used for this type of current was galvanic current. [1]
Diffusion current is a current in a semiconductor caused by the diffusion of charge carriers (electrons and/or electron holes).This is the current which is due to the transport of charges occurring because of non-uniform concentration of charged particles in a semiconductor.
In a normal alternating current power system, the current varies sinusoidally at a specific frequency, usually 50 or 60 hertz.When a linear time-invariant electrical load is connected to the system, it draws a sinusoidal current at the same frequency as the voltage, although not always in phase with the voltage).
Drift current is the electric current caused by particles getting pulled by an electric field. The term is most commonly used in the context of electrons and holes in semiconductors, although the same concept also applies to metals, electrolytes, and so on.
Since power is defined as the product of current and voltage, the ampere can alternatively be expressed in terms of the other units using the relationship I = P/V, and thus 1 A = 1 W/V. Current can be measured by a multimeter, a device that can measure electrical voltage, current, and resistance.