Direct current
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Direct current (DC or "continuous current") is considered as the constant flow of electrons in the single direction from low to high potential. This is typically in a conductor such as a wire, but can also be through semiconductors, insulators, or even through a vacuum as in electron or ion beams. In direct current, the electric charges flow in the same direction, distinguishing it from alternating current (AC). A term formerly used for direct current was Galvanic current.
Long after the usage of this term had been established, physicists realized that electrons actually flow to a negative potential (pole) and so-called "holes" flow to the opposite one. However, the established usage of the term prevailed.
The first commercial electric power transmission (developed by Thomas Edison in the late nineteenth century) used direct current. Because of the advantage of alternating current over direct current in transforming and transmission, electric power distribution today is nearly all alternating current. See War of Currents.
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[edit] Various definitions
Within Electrical Engineering, the term DC is a synonym for constant. For example, the voltage across a DC voltage source is constant as is the current through a DC current source. The DC solution of an electric circuit is the solution where all voltages and currents are constant. It can be shown that any voltage or current waveform can be decomposed into a sum of a DC component and a time-varying component. The DC component is defined to be the average value of the voltage or current over all time. The average value of the time-varying component is zero.
Although DC stands for "Direct Current", DC sometimes refers to "constant polarity." With this definition, DC voltages can vary in time, such as the raw output of a rectifier or the fluctuating voice signal on a telephone line.
Some forms of DC (such as that produced by a voltage regulator) have almost no variations in voltage, but may still have variations in output power and current.
[edit] Applications
Direct current installations usually have different types of sockets, switches, and fixtures, mostly due to the low voltages used, from those suitable for alternating current. It is usually important with a direct current appliance not to reverse polarity unless the device has a diode bridge to correct for this. (Most battery-powered devices do not.)
High voltage direct current is used for long-distance point-to-point power transmission and for submarine cables, with voltages from a few kilovolts to approximately one megavolt.
DC is commonly found in many low-voltage applications, especially where these are powered by batteries, which can produce only DC, or solar power systems, since solar cells can produce only DC. Most automotive applications use DC, although the alternator is an AC device which uses a rectifier to produce DC. Most electronic circuits require a DC power supply. Applications using fuel cells (mixing hydrogen and oxygen together with a catalyst to produce electricity and water as byproducts) also produce only DC.
Most telephones connect to a twisted pair of wires, and internally separate the AC component of the voltage between the two wires (the audio signal) from the DC component of the voltage between the two wires (used to power the phone).
Telephone exchange communication equipment, such as DSLAM, uses standard -48V DC power supply. The negative polarity is achieved by grounding the positive terminal of power supply system and the battery bank. This is done to prevent electrolysis depositions.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- "AC/DC: What's the Difference?". Edison's Miracle of Light, American Experience. (PBS)
