Module 2

LESSON ALTERNATING CURRENT

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
• Explain the differences and similarities between AC and DC current.
• Calculate rms voltage, current, and average power.
• Explain why AC current is used for power transmission.

Introduction:
Hi there! You already learned earlier that a generator or dynamo produces energy by
electromagnetic induction and that the current alternate sinusoidally. In most commercial power
plants., mechanical energy is provided in the form of rotational motion. Basically, a generator uses
the turbine’s rotary motion to turn a wire loop in a magnetic field. Thus a generator produces a
continuously changing e.m.f or (current). The current supplied to most of the buildings in the
community comes from the National Grid and it is alternating, with a frequency of 50Hz. Alternating
current is used in preference to direct current because it is easier to generate, and much easier to
transform from one voltage to another.

Activity:
Observed the following image:
Analysis:
After conducting the activity above, answer the following questions. Use the space below for your
answer.
1. What do you think will happen to piston if the turbine will start working?
2. What do you think will be the effect of the piston’s movement towards the fluid?

Abstraction:
An alternating current or e.m.f varies periodically with time in magnitude and direction. One complete
alternation is called a cycle and the number of cycles occurring in one second is termed the frequency
(f) of the alternating quantity (current or voltage). The unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz) and was
previously the cycle per second (c.p.s). For example, if the frequency of electricity supply in Panabo
is 50Hz, it means that duration of one cycle, known as the period (T) , is1/50 = 0.02s. In general, f =
1/T.

The simplest and most important alternating e.m.f. can be represented by a sine curve and is said to
have a sinusoidal wave form. It can be represented by the equation
E = Eo sin wt
where E is the e.m.f . at time t, Eo is the peak or maximum e.m.f and W is the angular frequency
which is equals to 2𝜋f where f is the frequency of the e.m.f. similarly, for a sinsoidal alternating
current, we have
I = Io sin wt
I is the instantaneous value of the current at a given instant t and Io its maximum or peak value or
the current amplitude.

Figure 1 Alternating current representation

The same will be the case if we wish to measure an alternating potential difference by means of an
ordinary d.c. voltmeter. This too will show zero deflection of the pointer, indicating zero average value
of the alternating p.d. over a whole cycle. Therefore, in the case of alternating current and p.d, we
take the average over half a cycle or half a time period.

The average value of the alternating current or. P.d. is obviously the same for either half of a cycle
but opposite in direction. You may then ask at this junction, how do we measure an alternating
current?
The answer is that we should base our measuring device on some such effect of the current which
is independent of its direction (or which depends on the square of the current, i.e, I2, so that there will
be no negative value of I2). One of such effects is the heating effect of a current. For, although the
current flows in one direction in a resistance during one half cycle and in the opposite direction during
the other half, the latter does not reverse the heating effect produced by the former but itself produces
an equal heating effect. Thus a heating effect is produced by the cycle or the alternating current as
a whole. We therefore, define an alternating current in terms of a direct or steady current which
produces the same heating effect as the given alternating current.

All instrument for measuring alternating current and p.d depend for their working on the square of the
current and voltage respectively. They are calibrated to read the effective values of current and p.d.
in ampere and volts respectively. In other words, the peak value is obtained by multiplying the value
read on the instrument by √2.
So, when we say that the voltage of the domestic a.c. supply is 220, it means that the r.m.s or the
effective value of the voltage is 220. The voltage amplitude or the peak value of voltage is 220 x √2
= 311 volts.

Example1
A 500W lamp is used on a domestic a.c. supply at 220 volt.
What is
(i) The effective value of the current consumed by the lamp?
(ii) The r.m.s value of the voltage
(iii) The peak value of the voltage
(iv) The average value of the voltage.

Electric power has to be transmitted to towns and villages from power stations, usually located at
fairly distant places where better and cheaper facilities for power generation are available. Long
cables, called transmission lines are used. The arrangement is referred to as a Grid system. You
must have observed as you travel from one place to another in your Local Government Area or State,
that the Grid system is a network of cables (wires), most of it supported on pylons, which connects
very many power (PHCN) stations throughout the country and carrying electrical energy from then to
consumers.
 If the current were to be transmitted at comparatively low voltage at which it is generated at the power
station, the current strength would be high and would result in considerable loss of energy in the form
of heat in the transmission lines.
For example, suppose a power station generates 500KW of power at 250V. If it were to be supplied
directly to the towns and cities, as it is produced, the current that the cables will have to carry will be
I = 500 x 103 / 250 = 2000 amperes. This is too much high current to be carried by the transmission
lines, not only safety for but also because of the following reasons.

(i) It will result into very high I2R losses i.e. losses due to heating up of the wires).

(ii) If thick wires are used in order to decrease the resistance, the cost of the material as well as the
supporting pylons would be extremely high.

(iii) There will be a large fall of potential per unit length of the wire.

The problem is, therefore, solved by first stepping up the voltage at the power station itself, by means
of a transformer, so that the current to be carried by the transmission lines may be small. In a typical
power station, electricity may be generated at about 25KV (50H2) and stepped up in a transformer
to 275KV or 400KV for transmission over long distances. The p.d. is subsequently reduced in sub-
station by other transformers for distribution to local users at suitable p.d.s – 33 KV for heavy industry,
11 KV for light industry and 220V for homes, schools, shops, etc

Application:
The plate on the back of a personal computer says that it draws 2.7 A from a 120-V, 60-Hz line. For
this computer, what are
(a) the average current,
(b) the average of the square of the current, and
(c) the current amplitude?
Terms to Remember:
Inductor – a coil of any geometry. Even a single loop of wire serves as an inductor.
Inductance – the property of an inductor for which a changing current causes an emf to be induced in the
inductor (as well as in any other nearby conductors).
Solenoid – a coil of wire in the shape of a right-circular cylinder.
Toroidal coil – a coil of wire in the shape of a single-holed ring torus (which is a donut).
Turns – the loops of a coil of wire (such as a solenoid).
Half-life – the time it takes to decay to one-half of the initial value, or to grow to one-half of the final value.
Time constant – the time it takes to decay to 1/e or ≈37% of the initial value, or to grow to (1−1/𝑒) or ≈63% of
the final value.
Electric charge – a fundamental property of a particle that causes the particle to experience a force in the
presence of an electric field. (An electrically neutral particle has no charge and thus experiences no force in the
presence of an electric field.)
Current – the instantaneous rate of flow of charge through a wire.
DC – direct current. The direction of the current doesn’t change in time.
Potential difference – the electric work per unit charge needed to move a test charge between two points in a
circuit. Potential difference is also called the voltage.
Emf – the potential difference that a battery or DC power supply would supply to a circuit neglecting its internal
resistance.
Back emf – the emf induced in an inductor via Faraday’s law. The back emf acts against the applied potential
difference.
Magnetic field – a magnetic effect created by a moving charge (or current).
Magnetic flux – a measure of the relative number of magnetic field lines that pass through a surface.
Permeability – a measure of how a substance affects a magnetic field.
Resistance – a measure of how well a component in a circuit resists the flow of current.
Resistor – a component in a circuit which has a significant amount of resistance.
Capacitor – a device that can store charge, which consists of two separated conductors (such as two parallel
conducting plates).
Capacitance – a measure of how much charge a capacitor can store for a given voltage.
Magnetic energy – a measure of how much magnetic work an inductor could do based on the current running
through its loops.
Electric potential energy – a measure of how much electrical work a capacitor could do based on the charge
stored on its plates and the potential difference across its plates.