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Cht 10 Alternating current

Physics grade 12 (Masana Secondary School)

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ELECTRICITY
Alternating current
L. De Wet

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What is alternating current?

 an electric current that reverses its direction many times a second

 at regular intervals,
 typically used in power supplies.

 A current flowing through a wire (conductor)

creates a magnetic field around the wire
 and vice versa, in other words:
 If a magnet is inserted into a coil of wire,
 then a current will be produced. This is called an
electromagnet.
 A simple electromagnetic can be made by
 inserting a steel nail in a coil and
 connecting the end of the coil or wire to a battery

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Simple electromagnet

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Right hand rule of thumb

 ?

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Alternating current
 If the magnet is moved in only one direction, then a direct current is
produced,
 but if the magnet is moved back and forth then an oscillating current is
produced which is called alternating current.
 An alternating current is usually produced by rotating a coil in a
magnetic field.
 Alternating currents occur in telephones, radio and television receivers,
and in almost every other electrical communications device.
 The cutting of magnetic lines in an alternating current circuit produces
an alternating emf (electromotive force) and this is defined as a force
set up in an electric circuit by a difference in voltage causing the
movement of electrons or supplying of energy for movement. It is
measured in V.
 It is similar to V in DC circuits.

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 Electromagnetic force (we will abbreviate it to EMF) is

different:
See DC circuits – it is the forces between like and
opposite charges…….

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Alternating current

 Emf in a loop of wire rotating at constant speed in a magnetic field

changes sinusoidally with time (Fig. 8.7).

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
 https://youtu.be/MW1YUy3Yqpc

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Alternating current

 A generator changes mechanical energy to electrical energy, e.g. electromagnet.

 Suppose that a generator of this kind is connected to a piece of wire that acts like a pure resistance,
i.e. its self-inductance and its capacitance are very small.
 The voltage across the wire and the current in it vary as shown in Fig 8.7.
 X-axis = time and here time is proportional to the angle through which the generator coil has turned.
Notice the following in Fig. 8.7.
 a) The voltage and current are in phase and have reached their maximum, zero and minimum
values at the same time.
 b) The maximum voltage is 170 V and the maximum current is 2.0 A.
 c) The period of the current and voltage is s, and their frequency is 60 cycles.s-1.
 (The American standard is 60, but SA is 50).

Self-inductance or Inductance
An electric current flowing through a circuit produces a magnetic flux and the ratio of flux to current is
known inductance. An inductor (or reactor) stores energy in the magnetic field produced by the
current.

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Other definitions
Resistance in DC circuits has ONLY MAGNITUDE, but
 Inductive reactance impedance has both MAGNITUDE AND PHASE.

 The impedance of a circuit depends upon its resistance and also its
reactance, of which the latter is represented by the formula . Reactance
opposes a CHANGE in current (while resistance opposes a FLOW of current)
 The counter-electromotive force (abbreviated counter emf), also known as the
back electromotive force, is the voltage, or electromotive force, that pushes
against the current which induces it. ... For example, the voltage drop across
an inductor is due to the induced magnetic field inside the coil.
 The counter emf induced in a coil depends upon its self-inductance and also
upon the rate at which the current changes.
 A coil has a self-inductance of 1 henry, i.e.,
 1 V.A-1.s-1 if 1 V is induced by a current changing at a rate of 1 A-1.s-1.

 Capacitance is the ability to store a charge and will be discussed more fully later.

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Definitions

 When current and voltage are in phase – this is usually true in house lighting
circuits, the instantaneous current and voltage are related by Ohm’s law:
i = and I =
 where R is the resistance of the circuit and
 i = instantaneous current, which is current at a given moment.

 Effective current (Ieff) is defined as one effective ampere (A) in an

alternating current circuit which heats a conductor at the same rate as a
DC current. Ieff = 0.707 x I.
 Effective voltage (Veff) is defined as: One effective V is the alternating emf in
a circuit when current = 1 A and resistance = 1 Ω. Veff = 0.707 x V.

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Definitions

 Effective current and effective voltage are convenient quantities to use in

describing alternating current circuits, because they are related to the
power delivered to the circuit.
 These are the quantities measured by alternating current ammeters and
voltmeters. We use the definitions of effective current and effective voltage
to compare time-varying alternating currents and voltages with steady
direct currents and voltages.
 Impedance (Z) is defined as the ratio of the effective potential difference
between the terminals of a circuit to the effective current in the circuit.
Impedance is expressed in ohms and is similar to resistance in DC circuits. Ieff
is similar to current in DC circuits:
 Ieff =

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Definitions

 An inductor is a coil of wire with resistance lower than

a resistor.
 It has electromagnetic properties and is used in for
example,
 computer technology to decrease the current usage
and increase efficiency of power supply components.

An Inductor, also known as a reactor is simply a coil of

wire, which has many electrical properties when
subjected to a magnetic field. When an electric
current is passed through it, a magnetic field is
created. This magnetic field helps to store the electric
current for a short time, even if the supply is removed.
When the magnetic field around the coil collapses,
the electric current also falls off.

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Impedance in circuits
 Figure 8.8 represents a circuit which includes a resistor A (a lamp) and an inductor B having an
iron core.
 Inductor B has R < resistor A
And is used in computer
Technology to decrease () I B

And increase () P .

~
A

Fig 8.8 Impedance in AC circuits.

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Impedance in circuits
 If the system in Fig. 8.8 is connected to a 120 V DC source, then the current is 0.5 A. By Ohm’s law the
resistance is found to be 240 Ω.
 So with DC source:
 R =

 =
.

 = 240 Ω

 If the system is now connected to a 120 V AC source, then the current will be smaller than before
(0.35 A), and the lamp will glow less brightly.

 Z =
So, resistance remains the same, but
=
.
. .
Ieff is smaller (and therefore lamp is less
 =
. bright in AC).
.

 = 240 Ω

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Phase lag, Power and Power factor

 Inductive reactance is the “reaction” of the inductor to the changing value of the AC.
 Figure 8.9 (expanded).
1) 2)
1
Z 1
𝑅 Z
𝑅

Phase lag angle

Phase lag angle
if increases
R
R

3) 4)
1
=0
𝑅
Z
Phase lag angle
Z Z = R and
= cos
Phase lag = 0
R
R

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Phase lag, Power and Power factor

Inductive reactance is the term used to

DISTINGUISH resistance in DC in resistor from
reactance in AC in inductor.

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Phase lag, Power and Power factor

 Fig. 8.10 represents the
alternating current and voltage
in a circuit that has zero
reactance. The two are exactly
in step.

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Phase lag, Power and Power factor

 In Fig 8.11 the inductive reactance opposes the increase or decrease of current so that the current
lags behind the voltage. The angle of lag is 30 o or one-twelve of a cycle.

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Phase lag, Power and Power factor

 I lags behind (later time) V because inductive reactance opposes the current = OUT OF PHASE.

 If the current and the voltage in an AC circuit are in phase, the power is computed by the formula
 P = Veff x Ieff Eq. 1
 If they are not in phase, the maximum voltage and current occur at different times in each cycle. The
power is not given by the product of the voltage and the current, but by
 P = Veff x Ieff x cos  Eq. 2

 The ratio of the “true” power given by Eq. 2 to the “apparent” power (Eq. 1) is called the power factor.
 Power factor =


 =

 = cos 
=

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Phase lag, Power and Power factor

 A power factor near to 1 means V and I are close.

 A low power factor (extra charge for factory for example) means V and I are far out of phase.
 Because power companies have to send more current, which is expensive, a possible solution is to
install power capacitors, which would give more apparent power for use.
 A lag situation is true to life, e.g. V and I are 300 out of phase and so the power will have positive and
negative parts,
 but in total the average power is positive.
 The less the lag the more the delivered power.

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THE TRANSFORMER
 Alternating current is convenient because a transformer readily changes its voltage.
 A transformer is simple,
 has no mechanically moving parts,
 and may be very efficient.

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THE TRANSFORMER
 Separate coils are wound on an iron core.
 Suppose that the coil A is connected to a battery.
 When the circuit is first closed (on), the iron will be magnetized and the magnetic line will follow the
iron path and thread through the other set of coils B and C.
 The changing of the magnetic flux will induce as emf in each coil which will persist only while
the field is changing.
 Open the circuit (switch off).
 As the magnetic field dies down, an opposite emf will be induced.

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THE TRANSFORMER
 Now connect the coil A to the house lighting system which provides an effective alternating
voltage of, e.g.120 V.
 The current through the coil will reverse 120 times per second (60 cycles/sec), and magnetic lines
will repeatedly be thrust through the other coils and withdrawn.
 If the three coils have the same number of windings, the effective emf induced in B and that in C will
each be about equal to that in A.
 You can connect the two coils B and C in series so that the output emf will be twice that of the input
circuit.
 A transformer in which the output coils (secondary winding) have more turns than the input coils
(primary winding) is called a step-up transformer. One in which the output coils have fewer turns is
called a step-down transformer.
 Step-up transformers increase the voltage, while step-down transformers decrease the voltage.
When voltage is increased, current is diminished, but power remains approximately constant.
 For example, P = VxI
 = 2 V x 25 A = 50 W
 With a transformer change:
 = 25 V x 2 A = 50 W

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Capacitive reactance

 We have seen that when the reactance of a circuit increases, the current required for a certain
power must increase since P=VeffIeff cos.
 This increase in current wastes energy due to heating.
 For example, if the motors in an air-conditioning system in a theater causes a phase lag of 30°, the
power lost in electrical heating is increased by about 30%.
 The phase lag of a system can be reduced by
connecting capacitors in the circuit.
 Suppose that we connect an incandescent lamp at A
and a capacitor at B in series with a DC source (Fig. 8.13).

Figure 8.13 Lamp and capacitor in DC circuit.

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Capacitive reactance
 When the circuit is first closed, there will be momentary flow of charge until the
capacitor is charged, but afterward the current will cease.
 If the system is connected to an AC source,
 the capacitor will be charged and discharged continuously, electrons will surge to a
fro through the filament, and the lamp will glow.
 If the plates of the capacitor are made larger or are put closer together, its
capacitance will be increased, more charges will flow in the circuit for each
alternation, and the current will be greater.
 A capacitor’s opposition to current varies inversely with its capacitance.
 

 The alternating current in such a circuit depends not only upon the capacitance C
of the circuit, but also upon the frequency, f. In general, the reactance of a
capacitor varies inversely with the frequency.
  OR Reactance and frequency are indirectly proportional

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Capacitor
 A capacitor is like a battery – but can dump all its charge in a fraction of a second.
 For example, a camera flash, TV.
 Large capacitors such as those found in TVs carry a large charge and are therefore very dangerous
to inexperienced people who try to open TVs to repair them.
 Capacitors and inductors are used together to create oscillators.

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Examples of uses for alternating current: Telephone

 According to Hutchinson, 2007 (a) the telephone works on the principles of sound vibrations converted
to electric signals and back again.
 The mouthpiece includes a carbon microphone that produces electrical signals which changes as
words are spoken.
 The signal is transferred to another telephone via local/national exchanges, then via satellite back to
exchanges and finally to the receiver telephone.
 The earpiece in the receiver phone contains an electromagnet loudspeaker with a vibrating
diaphragm which reproduces the sounds, making global communication a reality (Fig. 8.14).

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Examples of uses for alternating current: Television

 According to Hutchinson, 2007 (b) Fig. 8.15 depicts the processes involved in television
transmission.
 A camera uses filters and tubes to separate the picture into the three basic colours, red, green
and blue.
 The audio signal is separate from the video signal but both are transmitted from one aerial using a
diplexer (coupling device).
 A receiver television set has
four different sections, the aerial,
tuners, decoders and display and
as in the transmitter the audio
and video are also separate.
 The signals are amplified at
various points by transmitter masts.

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THANK YOU

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