AC VS DC

BY: MARISSA STACEY

AC Current

is a type of electrical current, in which the direction of the flow of

electrons switches back and forth at regular intervals or cycles.
Current flowing in power lines and normal household electricity
that comes from a wall outlet is alternating current.

DC Current

is the unidirectional flow or movement of electric charge carriers

(which are usually electrons). The intensity of the current can
vary with time, but the general direction of movement stays the
same at all times.

The difference between ac and dc

currents

The difference between AC and DC is the direction of flow. DC is

constant and moves in one direction. A simple way to visualize
the difference is that, when graphed, a DC current looks like a flat
line, whereas the flow of AC on a graph makes a sinusoid or
wave-like pattern. AC changes over time in an oscillating
repetitionthe up curve indicates the current flowing in a
positive direction and the down curve signifies the alternate cycle
where the current moves in a negative direction. This back and
forth is what gives AC its name.

AC Currents

DC Current

The pros and cons of AC

Electricity

The pros of AC Electricity are:

Heats up more

Synchronous motors allows easy synchronization or high power

mechanical systems

The cons of AC Electricity are:

Needs inverter to run on DC

Not convenient for wireless devices

The pros and cons of DC

Electricity

The pros of DC electricity are:

Heats up less

Easy to use on wireless devices

The cons of DC electricity are:

Needs rectifier to run on AC

Brushes or electronic commutators are needed