Difference Between AC and DC Electricity by smart knowledge

 Difference between AC and DC Electricity

Today, I am going to talk about DC versus AC electricity by smart knowledge.The difference between them and some pros and cons of each.

DC stands for Direct Current, which is easy to remember that the current is flowing directly from one point to another.

With DC, the current flows in a loop from a higher voltage to a lower voltage

before being pumped back up either with a battery or some other type of power supply. Physically what happens with DC is that the battery or power supply is forcing more electrons to one side of the circuit either with a chemical or electrical process, trying to maintain the voltage.

 

AC, or Alternating Current, is when the current changes direction as the polarity of the voltage changes. You'll see in above image the voltage being represented as a sine wave with it moving from positive to negative while also momentarily not having any voltage differential.

This changing voltage corresponds to the electrons flowing first in one direction and then another.

   Usually when you think of AC power you think of what comes out of the wall outlet

which is typically 60 or 50 Hertz, meaning that it goes through an entire cycle 60 or 50 times a second.

For old incandescent light Bulbs this means they flicker faster than our eyes can see.

Hopefully. So why would we choose one over the other?

DC is very simple easy to make, easy to use, and most electronic devices use a DC power supply.

You can carry it around as small batteries or even capacitors.

DC is better for long distance transmission

because it doesn't suffer from the skin effect that plagues AC circuits.

At the same time, even though it's easier now than it was a hundred years ago,

it's still pretty hard and expensive to change the voltage of a DC signal.

It's also difficult to create a good AC signal from DC power.

Most DC to AC inverters fake it by creating a square wave instead of a sine wave.

On the other hand, AC is much easier to increase or decrease voltage with simple and low-cost transformers, which means you can change the voltage for long distance power transmission,

AC can be easily generated mechanically, such as with a generator,

and changing AC to DC is a straightforward and efficient process.

This is good because AC doesn't work with many things naturally other than items with motors or incandescent lights. It's also not as portable which means that if you need AC power out camping or something,

it's going to be a real pain. So there are pros and cons with both.

     

   DC is easier to use while AC is easier to transport over long distances..

Thanks for visiting..