Editing Alternating current (section)

{{short description|Electric current that periodically reverses direction}}
{{RefImprove|date=March 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}

[[File:Types of current by Zureks.svg|thumb|Alternating current (green curve). The horizontal axis measures time (it also represents zero voltage/current); the vertical, current or voltage.]]
{{Electromagnetism |Network}}

'''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]] that consumers typically use when they plug [[kitchen appliance]]s, [[television]]s, [[Fan (machine)|fan]]s and [[electric lamp]]s into a [[wall socket]]. The abbreviations ''AC'' and ''DC'' are often used to mean simply ''alternating'' and ''direct'', respectively, as when they modify ''[[Electric current|current]]'' or ''[[voltage]]''.<ref>{{cite book | title = Basic Electronics & Linear Circuits| author = N. N. Bhargava| author2 = D. C. Kulshreshtha| name-list-style=amp| publisher = Tata McGraw-Hill Education| date = 1983| isbn = 978-0-07-451965-3| page = 90| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=C5bt-oRuUzwC&pg=PA90}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Electrical meterman's handbook| author = National Electric Light Association| publisher = Trow Press| date = 1915 | page = 81| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEpWAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA81}}</ref>

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 ''[[wave cycle|cycle]]''). "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 amplifier]]s, different waveforms are used, such as [[Triangle wave|triangular waves]] or [[Square wave (waveform)|square wave]]s. [[Audio frequency|Audio]] and [[radio frequency|radio]] signals carried on electrical wires are also examples of alternating current. These types of alternating current carry information such as sound (audio) or images (video) sometimes carried by [[modulation]] of an AC carrier signal. These currents typically alternate at higher frequencies than those used in power transmission.

{{TOC limit|3}}