Difference between AC and DC Electricity?

Question

I just found out there was a difference! And i found out that they electrocuted the first guy ever to be electrocuted with AC electricity which is how Thomas Edison pushed for DC electricity...

But so what's the difference? And is only 1 used today? And do they only use AC to electrocute people? (Do they still even electrocute people?)

Answer 1

deskwalker - Name one instance of someone being electrocuted to death by 1 aaa battery.

Answer 2

kid you need to think,  you can elerocute your self witha AAA battery.and plenty of people die that way every year.

If you don't know about electricty you don't mess with it, so I suggest you find a class or find a ham radio guy to teach you a few safty rules.

Or go by the power company and ask their safety officer.

Electricity is not something you mess with.  

Answer 3

The basic difference between AC & DC, their names state the differences.

AC - Alternating Current.  The electrons that make up the current flow first in one direction then travel in the opposite direction.  They alternate there direction of flow.   (The polarity of the electricity alternates.)  

DC - Direct Current.   The electrons that make up the current flow in just one direction. (Unidirectional flow)  The polarity of the electricity always stays the same.

AC has advantages in power distribution which allow for the easy use of transformers to step up and down the voltage between the power plant and your home.   By increasing the voltage to high levels is allows power to be delivered across long distances with less loss.  Once at the destination the voltage is stepped down with another transformer to a level that we can use in our homes.

The comment about a AAA battery electrcuting someone needs some explination.   There is enough voltage and current in a AAA battery to stop your heart IF you could directly connect the battery to your heart. (open heart surgury anyone?)

The normal resistance of the human body prevents this from happening and is why you can safely handle a AAA battery without killing yourself.  If you placed enough AAA batteries in series there voltages would add together and it would be possible to obtain a dangerous and possible leathal  voltage of DC.  

Answer 4

AC = Alternating Current. Its the type in your house usually 110V in the US, 220V in Europe. Electrons flow forward and back type motion. AC is also the type of electricity that moves your home speakers. AC = Electromagnetism or vise versa.

DC = Direct Current. The type of electricity used in small electronics. Batteries are DC. DC is used in your home stereo even though you plug AC into it. The AC goes to a transformer that lowers the 110v AC to something like 24v AC. Then by use of a component called a diode or rectifier DC is created. This happens cause Diode are like valves. So when AC pushes from one side (+) it lets current pass but when the AC pull back ( cause it's always alternating ) the diode stops the flow. With few components you can make AC a push pull type of electricity to DC   a push push type.

mobs

be careful  

Answer 5

DC- ONLY requirement is that the voltage does not drop below 0V. if the voltage falls into the negative, the direction of the current reverses

AC- requires that the direction of the current is reversed at some point.

both are used today. AC is good for motors and lights not much else. DC powers every piece of electronics in you house

speaker run off of DC because the voltage never falls below 0V. for speakers to operate the signal is "floated" on top of a DC voltage.

the average amount of current required to kill someone is 250mA. that can be supplied by a AAA battery. for it to kill you, you would need to connect it to two needles and use both needles to pierce your heart. AAAs will NOT kill you!

billrussell42, im surprised you got AC transmition wrong. you are pretty reliable. mobs said the least amount of things wrong. DC is THE BEST for power transmition. end of argument. when the original power grids were being built, the technology needed to switch large amounts of DC didnt exist. AC power lines are nothing but really long antennas transmitting their power to the ground (grounding effect). that is why the put high voltage power lines so far above the ground. DC works great in transformers. my truck does it everyday. the only requirement for electricity to pass through a transformer is a changing magnetic field. every time my points in my distributor fire a spark plug the power surges and DC passes through a transformer. for large scale DC power distribution (like the lines that run int canada to power our missile defense systems) a giant flash bulb is used. when it flashes, the magnetic field changes and power flows.  

Answer 6

DC cannot be transmitted for long distances, whereas with AC it can be. With DC you would need a power plant every few blocks, while AC power plants can be located quite a distance away. In fact some of the electricity that serves your house could be from a thousand miles away.

Why that is true is that AC possess the property of being able to use a transformer to change the voltage.

Losses in a transmission  line are due to current. With AC the voltage can be converted to as high as hundreds of thousands of volts, which reduces the current by the same factor, reducing the line losses.

Read up on transformers.

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