UNTRANSLATED .. 2.5

Direct and Alternating Currents

Objective

Introduce the concept of time dependent voltages, using a V(t) graph. Compare the graph of DC and AC.

_images/ac-dc.svg

Procedure

Discussion

In the plot if voltage is not changing, it is pure DC. If the voltage is changing with time, it has an AC component. if the average voltage is zero, it is pure DC. In the second plot, the voltage is changing from zero to file volts, is it AC, DC or something else ???

_images/ac-dc.png _images/sqr-wave.png