WHAT IS “ALTERNATING CURRENT?” AND “DIRECT CURRENT?
In an AC system, the wires are filled with vibrating charges. In a DC system, the charges flow forward like a rubber belt. (And when everything is turned off, the wires are STILL full of charges, but they aren’t flowing.) Here is an analogy for understanding AC and DC. Get a bicycle wheel. Fill it with mechanical energy by spinning it fast. Now put your finger against the spinning tire. The tire slows down, and your finger gets hot! The rubber tire acts like the charge inside the wires of an electric circuit. It moves in a single direction, and that’s what “Direct current” means. OK, now take the same bicycle wheel and have a friend start turning it back and forth, back and forth. Have them do this very fast, so the “turning” is more like a wiggling. Now put your thumb on the tire so the tire rubs upon your skin. Your thumb gets hot! You have just demonstrated “alternating current.
