Alternating current
An AC voltage or current is any which is changing. It will very often be one which changes at a known rate. Where a DC voltage or current is easily described by its magnitude and sign (‘3 V DC’ or ‘−16.2 V DC’ says it all, as long as we know where 0 V is), AC signals are a bit more complicated. We are going to start by considering the simplest type of AC signal. Then we will look at more complex ones.
The most ubiquitous AC signal is the sine wave. We will understand so much electronics in terms of how circuits respond to sine waves that it is worth our while spending some time describing and thinking about them.
The sine wave
If you haven’t known about sine waves before, the word ‘sine’ probably brings back dimly remembered ...
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