ALTERNATING

CURRENT
DIRECT CURRENT VS ALTERNATING CURRENT
COMMON ALTERNATING WAVEFORMS
 SINUSOIDAL
CURRENT
◦ A sinusoid is a signal that has a form of a
sine or cosine function.
◦ A sinusoidal current is usually referred to as
alternating current(ac).
◦ Such Current reverses at regular time
intervals and has alternately positive and
negative values.
 AC Waveform Characteristics

• The Period, (T) is the length of time in seconds that the waveform takes to repeat itself from start to finish.
This can also be called the Periodic Time of the waveform for sine waves, or the Pulse Width for square waves.

• The Frequency, (ƒ) is the number of times the waveform repeats itself within a one second time period.
Frequency is the reciprocal of the time period, ( ƒ = 1/T ) with the unit of frequency being the Hertz, (Hz).

• The Amplitude (A) is the magnitude or intensity of the signal waveform measured in volts or amps.
IMPORTANT PARAMETERS OF ALTERNATING SIGNALS

◦ Period (T)- the time of one complete cycle in seconds.

◦ Frequency (f)- the number of cycles per second(Hertz)
◦ Wavelength (λ)- the length of one complete cycle
◦ Propagation Velocity(v)- the speed of the signal.

-Standard for light and radio waves: v=3x m/s

-Standard for sound waves: v=344m/s

f= λ=
 SINUSOIDS
Consider the sinusoidal voltage

v(t) = t
=
Where:

=the amplitude of the sinusoid

=angle of rotation(in degrees)
=the angular velocity(rad/s)

t= time(in seconds)

Take note: =t=2пft Cyclic Frequency: f=

=2пf
• Only two sinusoidal values with the same
frequency can be compared by their amplitude and
phase difference.

• If phase difference is zero, they are in phase; if

phase difference is not zero, they are out of phase.

v(t) = t+𝜙)
Answers:

=12V Take note: =t=2пft Cyclic Frequency: f=

=2пf
𝜙=
T=
𝜔=50rad/s

T==0.1257 seconds

f=
Answers:

5V

-60

4п rad/s=12.57 rad/s

0.5s

2 Hz
 Phasors
◦ It is a complex number that represents the amplitude and phase of a sinusoid.
◦ It can be represented in one of the following:

Where:
j= ; x is the real part of z; y is the imaginary part of z
Take note: x=rcos𝜃; y=rsin𝜃
◦ Addition and
subtraction of
complex numbers
are better performed
in rectangular form;
Multiplication and
Division are better
done in polar form.
Sample Problem:
ASSIGNMENT
Phasor Relationship for Circuit Elements
Example

V(jwC)=I
(6<-30)(100<90)(50x10-6)=I
I=0.03<60 A
30<60 mA
IMPEDANCE AND ADMITTANCE
Example