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Direct Current

Direct current (DC or "continuous current") is the constant flow of electric charge. This is typically in a conductor such as a wire, but can also be through semiconductors, insulators, or even through a vacuum as in electron or ion beams. In direct current, the electric charges flow in the same direction, distinguishing it from alternating current (AC). A term formerly used for direct current was Galvanic current.
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Types of direct current


The first commercial electric power transmission (developed by Thomas Edison in the late nineteenth century) used direct current. Because of the advantage of alternating current over direct current in transforming and transmission, electric power distribution today is nearly all alternating current. For applications requiring direct current, such as third rail power systems, alternating current is distributed to a substation, which utilizes a rectifier to convert the power to direct current. See War of Currents.

Various definitions

Within electrical engineering, the term DC is a synonym for "constant". For example, the voltage across a DC voltage source is constant as is the current through a DC current source. The DC solution of an electric circuit is the solution where all voltages and currents are constant. It can be shown that any voltage or current waveform can be decomposed into a sum of a DC component and a time-varying component. The DC component is defined to be the average value of the voltage or current over all time. The average value of the time-varying component is zero.

Although DC stands for "Direct Current", DC sometimes refers to "constant polarity." With this definition, DC voltages can vary in time, such as the raw output of a rectifier or the fluctuating voice signal on a telephone line.

Some forms of DC (such as that produced by a voltage regulator) have almost no variations in voltage, but may still have variations in output power and current.

Applications

Direct current installations usually have different types of sockets, switches, and fixtures, mostly due to the low voltages used, from those suitable for alternating current. It is usually important with a direct current appliance not to reverse polarity unless the device has a diode bridge to correct for this. (Most battery-powered devices do not.)

High voltage direct current is used for long-distance point-to-point power transmission and for submarine cables, with voltages from a few kilovolts to approximately one megavolt.

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This symbol is found on many electronic devices that either require or produce direct current
DC is commonly found in many low-voltage applications, especially where these are powered by batteries, which can produce only DC, or solar power systems, since solar cells can produce only DC. Most automotive applications use DC, although the alternator is an AC device which uses a rectifier to produce DC. Most electronic circuits require a DC power supply. Applications using fuel cells (mixing hydrogen and oxygen together with a catalyst to produce electricity and water as byproducts) also produce only DC.

Most telephones connect to a twisted pair of wires, and internally separate the AC component of the voltage between the two wires (the audio signal) from the DC component of the voltage between the two wires (used to power the phone).

Telephone exchange communication equipment, such as DSLAM, uses standard -48V DC power supply. The negative polarity is achieved by grounding the positive terminal of power supply system and the battery bank. This is done to prevent electrolysis depositions.

An electrified third rail can be used to power both underground (subway) and overground trains.

See also

External links

Electric current is the flow (movement) of electric charge. The SI unit of electric current is the ampere (A), which is equal to a flow of one coulomb of charge per second.

Definition

The amount of electric current (measured in amperes) through some surface, e.g.
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In science and engineering, conductors, such as copper or aluminum, are materials with atoms have loosely held valence electrons. See electrical conduction.

Conductors in context


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A semiconductor is a solid that has electrical conductivity in between that of a conductor and that of an insulator, and can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically.[1] Semiconductors are tremendously important in technology.
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Electrical insulator is a material or object that resists the flow of electric current. When a voltage is placed across an insulator, very little current flows. An object intended to support or separate electrical conductors without passing current through itself is called an
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A vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than standard atmospheric pressure. The Latin term in vacuo is used to describe an object as being in what would otherwise be a vacuum.
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Cathode rays are streams of electrons observed in vacuum tubes, i.e. evacuated glass tubes that are equipped with at least two electrodes, a cathode (negative electrode) and an anode (positive electrode) in a configuration known as a diode.
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Flavour in particle physics
 

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alternating current (AC) is an electrical current whose magnitude and direction vary cyclically, as opposed to direct current, whose direction remains constant. The usual waveform of an AC power circuit is a sine wave, as this results in the most efficient transmission of
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In language, an archaism is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately (to achieve a specific effect) or as part of a specific jargon (for example in law) or formula (for example in religious contexts).
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Electric power transmission, a process in the delivery of electricity to consumers, is the bulk transfer of electrical power. Typically, power transmission is between the power plant and a substation near a populated area.
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Thomas Alva Edison (February 11 1847 – October 18 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and a long lasting light bulb.
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For the periodical, see .
The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s.
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third rail is a method of providing electricity to power a railway by means of a continuous rigid conductor mounted alongside the railway track or between the rails. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in own corridors, fully or
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rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current to direct current, a process known as rectification. Rectifiers are used as components of power supplies and as detectors of radio signals.
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In the "War of Currents" era (sometimes, "War of the Currents" or "Battle of Currents") in the late 1880s, George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison became adversaries due to Edison's promotion of direct current (DC) for electric power distribution over the
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Electrical engineering (sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering) is an engineering field that deals with the study and/or application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism.
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A voltage source is any device or system that produces an electromotive force between its terminals OR derives a secondary voltage from a primary source of the electromotive force.
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current source is an electrical or electronic device that delivers or absorbs electric current. Current sources can be theoretical or practical. A current source is the dual of a voltage source.
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electrical network is an interconnection of electrical elements such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, transmission lines, voltage sources, current sources, and switches.
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voltage regulator is an electrical regulator designed to automatically maintain a constant voltage level.

It may use an electromechanical mechanism, or passive or active electronic components. Depending on the design, it may be used to regulate one or more AC or DC voltages.
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Voltage (sometimes also called electric potential difference or electrical tension) is the potential similarity of electrical potential between two points of an electrical or electronic circuit, expressed in volts.
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For delivered electrical power, see .
Electric power is defined as the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.

When electric current flows in a circuit with resistance, it does work.
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Socket can refer to:

In electronics and '''electricity:
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switch is a device for changing the course (or flow) of a circuit. The prototypical model is a mechanical device (for example a railroad switch) which can be disconnected from one course and connected to another.
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A fixture can refer to:
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diode bridge or bridge rectifier is an arrangement of four diodes connected in a bridge circuit , that provides the same polarity of output voltage for any polarity of the input voltage.
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HVDC or high-voltage, direct current electric power transmission systems contrast with the more common alternating current systems as a means for the bulk transmission of electrical power.
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Submarine power cables are cables for electrical power running through the sea, below the surface.

A DC system may use the ground and seawater as a return path for current.
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Voltage (sometimes also called electric potential difference or electrical tension) is the potential similarity of electrical potential between two points of an electrical or electronic circuit, expressed in volts.
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battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells, which store chemical energy and make it available in an electrical form. There are many types of electrochemical cells, including galvanic cells, electrolytic cells, fuel cells, flow cells, and voltaic cells.
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