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Definition of direct current
: an electric current flowing in one direction only and substantially constant in value
—abbreviation DC
Examples of direct current in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web The high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable, in its extra-long format, is in use in China and in Europe as part of those countries’ existing power grids.
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Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, "Australia's Radical Idea to Send Sunshine to Asia Through a Giant Cable," 28 Feb. 2020 Improvements in transmission can be made, for example, by replacing inefficient wires, using superconductors that reduce resistance in wires, and thus lost energy, and controlling power flow and high-voltage direct current.
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The Conversation/sarah Marie Jordaan/kavita Surana, Ars Technica, "We calculated emissions due to electricity loss on the power grid," 26 Dec. 2019 The electricity that comes out of a wall outlet is an alternating current (AC) and needs to be converted to direct current (DC) to operate your devices.
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David Kender, USA TODAY, "Myth vs. fact: Unplugging devices when you leave the house," 27 Nov. 2019 Frequent fast-charging (direct current) also took a toll compared to slower Level 1 or 2 charging (alternating current at 120 and 240 volts).
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Michael J. Coren, Quartz, "Fast charging is not a friend of electric car batteries," 15 Dec. 2019 Improvements in transmission can be made, for example, by replacing inefficient wires, using superconductors which reduce resistance in wires, and thus lost energy, and controlling power flow and high-voltage direct current.
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Kavita Surana, The Conversation, "We calculated emissions due to electricity loss on the power grid – globally, it’s a lot," 11 Dec. 2019 The electricity generated by solar arrays or stored in batteries is in the form of direct current, and the electricity used on the grid is alternating current.
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John Fialka, Scientific American, "To Keep the Lights on During Blackouts, Austin Explores Microgrids," 3 Oct. 2019 Today, only computers, LEDs, solar cells and electric vehicles are supplied by direct current.
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Kristen Rogers, CNN, "The real story behind 'The Current War,' about Edison, Tesla and Westinghouse," 21 Oct. 2019 Juno has passed over both of Jupiter's polar regions every 53 days, according to the study's abstract, and found that direct current was approximately 50 million amps, not as high as theoretical models would suggest, according to Live Science.
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Fox News, "Mysterious alternating currents found on Jupiter," 17 July 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'direct current.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for direct current
The first known use of direct current was in 1849
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