Definition of alternating current
: an electric current that reverses its direction at regularly recurring intervals
—abbreviation AC
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Recent Examples of alternating current from the Web
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The plant will create energy by converting sunlight via photovoltaic solar arrays into direct current electricity and converting it into alternating current utilizing power inverters.
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Direct current is the power produced by solar panels before being converted to alternating current, which powers homes, and typically is measured at a higher level than AC power due to loss from conversion.
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How To Turn Your Car Into a Generator Car electricity runs on direct current, but almost everything else is alternating current.
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In technical terms, power systems in Europe, and much of Asia and Africa, run on alternating current at 50 hertz, meaning that the flow of electricity changes directions 50 times per second.
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But clocks that measure time by that alternating current have been fooled by the drop in frequency.
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Cathodic protection uses a device called a rectifier—a transformer which is connected to nearby power lines and converts alternating current to direct current.
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Alongside Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, Nunn pioneered the use of alternating current to transmit electrical power over long distances.
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Westinghouse has been working successfully with alternating current, allowing him to get ahead in the game by putting electric lighting in a string of American cities.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'alternating current.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of alternating current
1833
ALTERNATING CURRENT Defined for English Language Learners
alternating current
Definition of alternating current for English Language Learners
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: an electric current that changes its direction very frequently at regular intervals
ALTERNATING CURRENT Defined for Kids
alternating current
Definition of alternating current for Students
: an electric current that reverses its direction of flow regularly many times per second
Learn More about alternating current
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Spanish Central: Translation of alternating current Nglish: Translation of alternating current for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about alternating current
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