Hey everyone,
I’m getting into electric speciality and, to be honest, never understood (made it clear in my head) how does AC or DC work, why there are three/single phases used?
by „Make clear in my head” I mean I generally have some knowledge, but couldn’t be able to explain it to somebody else. Thanks!
In: 5
DC is current that goes the same way all the time. It is naturally produced by batteries and solar cells. It is useful in electronics because it contains no noise, and because many components only work right when current goes one way through them. You can think of it as a bicycle chain.
AC is current that changes direction all the time. You can think of it as a piston. It is naturally produced by electric coils being magnetized. It is useful in motors and transformers. Transformers are great because they can turn low voltages at high current into high voltages at low current, and vice versa. Low current means thinner transmission lines, and low voltage means safe household power.
Three phase AC current is produced when three coils are magnetized in sequence. They’re arranged so that there’s always a balance between the three currents. This means the current from the phase that’s the strongest can always return to the two others, and they gradually trade places. This is useful because it needs no dedicated return wire, and because sending it to three new coils produces a naturally rotating magnetic field, which motors love. One phase or DC motors need to perform various tricks in order to make such a field. This makes three phase power great for power transmission and industrial use.
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