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Grob Basic Electronics

Chapter 16
ALTERNATING VOLTAGE
AND CURRENT
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Topics Covered in Chapter 16
Alternating Current
Applications
Alternating-Voltage
Generator
The Sine Wave
Alternating Current
Voltage and Current
Values for a Sine Wave
Frequency
Period and Wavelength
Phase Angle
The Time Factor in
Frequency and Phase
A C Circuits with
Resistance
Nonsinusoidal AC
Waveforms
Harmonic Frequencies
The 60-Hz AC Power
Line
Motors and Generators
Three-Phase AC Power
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Elements of a Sine Wave
Alternating voltage and current vary
continuously in magnitude and reverse in
polarity.
One complete set of values is one cycle of
the ac waveform.
One cycle includes 360 in angular
measure or 2p rad in radian measure.
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Sine Wave Amplitudes
The rms value is 0.707 peak value.
The peak amplitude is 1.414 rms value.
The peak-to-peak value is 2.828 rms
value.
The average value is 0.637 peak value.
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Frequency of a Waveform
One cycle per second is 1 Hz
Audio range is 16 to 16,000 Hz
Radio-frequency range is up to 300,000
MHz
Frequency f is the number of cycles per
second.
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Period of a Waveform
T = 1/f
f = 1/T
The higher the frequency the shorter the
period..
Period T is the time per cycle.

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Wavelength of a Waveform
l = v/f, where:
l = wavelength
v = velocity of wave (such as sound or light)
f = frequency
The higher the frequency the lower the
wavelength.
Wavelength l is the distance a wave travels
in one cycle.
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Phase of a Waveform
Two waveforms that have peaks and zeros at the
same time are in phase and have a phase angle of
0.
When one sine wave is at its peak while another is
at zero, the two are 90 out of phase.
When one sine wave has just the opposite phase of
another, they are 180 out of phase.
Phase angle q is the angular difference
between the same points on two different
waveforms of the same frequency.
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Phasors for a Waveform
Similar to vectors, phasors indicate the
amplitude and phase angle of ac voltage or
current.
The length of the phasor represents the
amplitude of the waveform.
The angle represents the phase angle of the
waveform.
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Common AC Waveforms
Sine wave
Square wave *
Sawtooth wave *
* Square and sawtooth waves are called
nonsinusoidal waveforms.
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Additional Notes
House wiring uses 3-wire, single-phase power.
The frequency of house wiring is 60 Hz.*
The voltages for house wiring are 120 V to
ground, and 240 V across the two high sides.
Three-phase ac power has three legs that are 120
out of phase.
*Many places outside N. America use a 50 Hz
standard for house wiring.
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End of Chapter 16