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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During the night, workers cut a hole in the hotel's wall, dropped a cable four stories to the street below and then pulled the cable through a manhole to the New York Central Railway, which used alternating current.
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One pair emits a high-frequency alternating current, which measures the coin's surface characteristics—for example, a stamping of Washington or Jefferson.
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The device is subject to high internal temperatures that can damage transistors that convert lower-voltage direct current from the battery to higher-voltage alternating current for the motor.
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This takes the 206-volt direct current (DC) from the Prius’s nickel metal-hydride battery and converts it into the three-phase 500-volt alternating current (AC) needed to drive the car’s two electric motor/generators.
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Whatever the mechanism, all electric motors, whether their input current is AC or DC, require an alternating current in their stator windings to make their rotors spin.
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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.
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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