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104-721: The usual waveform of alternating current in most electric power circuits is a sine wave , whose positive half-period corresponds with positive direction of the current and vice versa (the full period is called a cycle ). In certain applications, like guitar amplifiers , different waveforms are used, such as triangular waves or square waves . Audio and radio signals carried on electrical wires are also examples of alternating current. These types of alternating current carry information such as sound (audio) or images (video) sometimes carried by modulation of an AC carrier signal. These currents typically alternate at higher frequencies than those used in power transmission. Electrical energy

208-403: A balanced signaling system, so that the two wires carry equal but opposite currents. Each wire in a twisted pair radiates a signal, but it is effectively cancelled by radiation from the other wire, resulting in almost no radiation loss. Coaxial cables are commonly used at audio frequencies and above for convenience. A coaxial cable has a conductive wire inside a conductive tube, separated by

312-448: A dielectric layer. The current flowing on the surface of the inner conductor is equal and opposite to the current flowing on the inner surface of the outer tube. The electromagnetic field is thus completely contained within the tube, and (ideally) no energy is lost to radiation or coupling outside the tube. Coaxial cables have acceptably small losses for frequencies up to about 5 GHz. For microwave frequencies greater than 5 GHz,

416-477: A power plant , energy is generated at a convenient voltage for the design of a generator , and then stepped up to a high voltage for transmission. Near the loads, the transmission voltage is stepped down to the voltages used by equipment. Consumer voltages vary somewhat depending on the country and size of load, but generally motors and lighting are built to use up to a few hundred volts between phases. The voltage delivered to equipment such as lighting and motor loads

520-452: A building, where these earthing systems are designated with letter symbols. The letter symbols are common in countries using IEC standards, but North American practices rarely refer to the IEC symbols. The differences are that the conductors may be separate over their entire run from equipment to earth ground, or may be combined all or part of their length. Different systems are used to minimize

624-449: A combination of a number of sinusoidal waves or other basis functions added together. Neutral point In electrical engineering , ground and neutral (earth and neutral) are circuit conductors used in alternating current (AC) electrical systems. The neutral conductor receives and returns alternating current to the supply during normal operation of the circuit; to limit the effects of leakage current from higher-voltage systems,

728-439: A compromise between low frequency for traction and heavy induction motors, while still allowing incandescent lighting to operate (although with noticeable flicker). Most of the 25 Hz residential and commercial customers for Niagara Falls power were converted to 60 Hz by the late 1950s, although some 25 Hz industrial customers still existed as of the start of the 21st century. 16.7 Hz power (formerly 16 2/3 Hz)

832-490: A direct current does not create electromagnetic waves. At very high frequencies, the current no longer flows in the wire, but effectively flows on the surface of the wire, within a thickness of a few skin depths . The skin depth is the thickness at which the current density is reduced by 63%. Even at relatively low frequencies used for power transmission (50 Hz – 60 Hz), non-uniform distribution of current still occurs in sufficiently thick conductors . For example,

936-444: A fault in the connected equipment. Extra connections between ground and circuit neutral may result in circulating current in the ground path, stray current introduced in the earth or in a structure, and stray voltage . Extra ground connections on a neutral conductor may bypass the protection provided by a ground-fault circuit interrupter. Signal circuits that rely on a ground connection will not function or will have erratic function if

1040-436: A form of dielectric waveguides, can be used. For such frequencies, the concepts of voltages and currents are no longer used. Alternating currents are accompanied (or caused) by alternating voltages. An AC voltage v can be described mathematically as a function of time by the following equation: where The peak-to-peak value of an AC voltage is defined as the difference between its positive peak and its negative peak. Since

1144-424: A grounding conductor which is separated from the safety grounding conductor specifically for the purposes of noise and "hum" reduction. Another specialized distribution system was formerly specified in patient care areas of hospitals. An isolated power system was furnished, from a special isolation transformer, with the intention of minimizing any leakage current that could pass through equipment directly connected to

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1248-459: A higher voltage requires less loss-producing current than for the same power at a lower voltage. Power is often transmitted at hundreds of kilovolts on pylons , and transformed down to tens of kilovolts to be transmitted on lower level lines, and finally transformed down to 100 V – 240 V for domestic use. High voltages have disadvantages, such as the increased insulation required, and generally increased difficulty in their safe handling. In

1352-953: A lighting system where sets of induction coils were installed along a high voltage AC line. Instead of changing voltage, the primary windings transferred power to the secondary windings which were connected to one or several 'electric candles' (arc lamps) of his own design, used to keep the failure of one lamp from disabling the entire circuit. In 1878, the Ganz factory , Budapest, Hungary, began manufacturing equipment for electric lighting and, by 1883, had installed over fifty systems in Austria-Hungary . Their AC systems used arc and incandescent lamps, generators, and other equipment. Alternating current systems can use transformers to change voltage from low to high level and back, allowing generation and consumption at low voltages but transmission, possibly over great distances, at high voltage, with savings in

1456-632: A low- impedance path to the earth to prevent hazardous voltages from appearing on equipment (high voltage spikes). The terms ground and earth are used synonymously in this section; ground is more common in North American English, and earth is more common in British English. Under normal conditions, a grounding conductor does not carry current. Grounding is also an integral path for home wiring because it causes circuit breakers to trip more quickly (ie, GFCI ), which

1560-403: A patient (for example, an electrocardiograph for monitoring the heart). The neutral of the circuit was not connected to ground. The leakage current was due to the distributed capacitance of the wiring and capacitance of the supply transformer. Such distribution systems were monitored by permanently installed instruments to give an alarm when high leakage current was detected. A shared neutral

1664-467: A protective ground connection to its case, and a neutral connection. These are all brought back to some common point in the building system, and a common connection is then made from that point back to the source of supply and to the earth. In a TT system, no lengthy common protective ground conductor is used, instead each article of electrical equipment (or building distribution system) has its own connection to earth ground. Indian CEAR , Rule 41, makes

1768-471: A shock hazard. In that case, circuit protection devices may detect a fault to a grounded metal enclosure and automatically de-energize the circuit, or may provide a warning of a ground fault. Under certain conditions, a conductor used to connect to a system neutral is also used for grounding (earthing) of equipment and structures. Current carried on a grounding conductor can result in objectionable or dangerous voltages appearing on equipment enclosures , so

1872-522: A single center-tapped transformer giving two live conductors, is a common distribution scheme for residential and small commercial buildings in North America. This arrangement is sometimes incorrectly referred to as "two phase". A similar method is used for a different reason on construction sites in the UK. Small power tools and lighting are supposed to be supplied by a local center-tapped transformer with

1976-457: A steady periodic sound affects its timbre . Synthesizers and modern keyboards can generate sounds with many complicated waveforms. Simple examples of periodic waveforms include the following, where t {\displaystyle t} is time , λ {\displaystyle \lambda } is wavelength , a {\displaystyle a} is amplitude and ϕ {\displaystyle \phi }

2080-488: A system neutral conductor is connected to particular terminals of the device ("unpolarized" plugs), portable appliances must be designed on the assumption that either pole of each circuit may reach full main voltage with respect to the ground. In North American practice, equipment connected by a cord set must have three wires if supplied exclusively by 240 volts, or must have four wires (including neutral and ground), if supplied by 120/240 volts. There are special provisions in

2184-555: A voltage of 55 V between each power conductor and earth. This significantly reduces the risk of electric shock in the event that one of the live conductors becomes exposed through an equipment fault whilst still allowing a reasonable voltage of 110 V between the two conductors for running the tools. A third wire , called the bond (or earth) wire, is often connected between non-current-carrying metal enclosures and earth ground. This conductor provides protection from electric shock due to accidental contact of circuit conductors with

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2288-403: A wire that is made of a non-perfect conductor (a conductor with finite, rather than infinite, electrical conductivity) pushes the alternating current, along with their associated electromagnetic fields, away from the wire's center. The phenomenon of alternating current being pushed away from the center of the conductor is called skin effect , and a direct current does not exhibit this effect, since

2392-470: Is 230 × R × W × 2 {\displaystyle 230\times R\times W\times 2} , that is 460 RW. During the course of one cycle (two cycle as the power) the voltage rises from zero to 325 V, the power from zero to 460 RW, and both falls through zero. Next, the voltage descends to reverse direction, -325 V, but the power ascends again to 460 RW, and both returns to zero. Alternating current

2496-455: Is phase : The Fourier series describes the decomposition of periodic waveforms, such that any periodic waveform can be formed by the sum of a (possibly infinite) set of fundamental and harmonic components. Finite-energy non-periodic waveforms can be analyzed into sinusoids by the Fourier transform . Other periodic waveforms are often called composite waveforms and can often be described as

2600-461: Is a connection in which a plurality of circuits use the same neutral connection. This is also known as a common neutral , and the circuits and neutral together are sometimes referred to as an Edison circuit . In a three-phase circuit, a neutral is shared between all three phases. Commonly the system neutral is connected to the star point on the feeding transformer. This is the reason that the secondary side of most three-phase distribution transformers

2704-530: Is called Litz wire . This measure helps to partially mitigate skin effect by forcing more equal current throughout the total cross section of the stranded conductors. Litz wire is used for making high-Q inductors , reducing losses in flexible conductors carrying very high currents at lower frequencies, and in the windings of devices carrying higher radio frequency current (up to hundreds of kilohertz), such as switch-mode power supplies and radio frequency transformers . As written above, an alternating current

2808-472: Is connected to earth ground at the point of supply, and equipment cases are connected to the neutral. The danger exists that a broken neutral connection will allow all the equipment cases to rise to a dangerous voltage if any leakage or insulation fault exists in any equipment. This can be mitigated with special cables but the cost is then higher. In the TN-C-S system, each piece of electrical equipment has both

2912-505: Is distributed as alternating current because AC voltage may be increased or decreased with a transformer . This allows the power to be transmitted through power lines efficiently at high voltage , which reduces the energy lost as heat due to resistance of the wire, and transformed to a lower, safer voltage for use. Use of a higher voltage leads to significantly more efficient transmission of power. The power losses ( P w {\displaystyle P_{\rm {w}}} ) in

3016-439: Is double of the one of the voltage's. To illustrate these concepts, consider a 230 V AC mains supply used in many countries around the world. It is so called because its root mean square value is 230 V. This means that the time-averaged power delivered P average {\displaystyle P_{\text{average}}} is equivalent to the power delivered by a DC voltage of 230 V. To determine

3120-442: Is expected. If the neutral is smaller than the phase conductors, it can be overloaded if a large unbalanced load occurs. The current drawn by non-linear loads, such as fluorescent & HID lighting and electronic equipment containing switching power supplies, often contains harmonics . Triplen harmonic currents (odd multiples of the third harmonic) are additive, resulting in more current in the shared neutral conductor than in any of

3224-457: Is for simple single panel installations; for multiple panels the situation is more complex. In a polyphase (usually three-phase ) AC system , the neutral conductor is intended to have similar voltages to each of the other circuit conductors, but may carry very little current if the phases are balanced. All neutral wires of the same earthed (grounded) electrical system should have the same electrical potential, because they are all connected through

Alternating current - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-415: Is little alternative, such as railways and trams . Since normal circuit currents in the neutral conductor can lead to objectionable or dangerous differences between local earth potential and the neutral, and to protect against neutral breakages, special precautions such as frequent rodding down to earth (multiple ground rod connections), use of cables where the combined neutral and earth completely surrounds

3432-469: Is made of electric charge under periodic acceleration , which causes radiation of electromagnetic waves . Energy that is radiated is lost. Depending on the frequency, different techniques are used to minimize the loss due to radiation. At frequencies up to about 1 GHz, pairs of wires are twisted together in a cable, forming a twisted pair . This reduces losses from electromagnetic radiation and inductive coupling . A twisted pair must be used with

3536-436: Is often some current on the neutral wire. This differs from the protective grounding wire, which only carries current under fault conditions. Using the neutral conductor for grounding the equipment enclosure was considered safe since the devices were permanently wired to the supply and so the neutral was unlikely to be broken without also breaking both supply conductors. Also, the unbalanced current due to lamps and small motors in

3640-520: Is probably by Guillaume Duchenne , inventor and developer of electrotherapy . In 1855, he announced that AC was superior to direct current for electrotherapeutic triggering of muscle contractions. Alternating current technology was developed further by the Hungarian Ganz Works company (1870s), and in the 1880s: Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti , Lucien Gaulard , and Galileo Ferraris . In 1876, Russian engineer Pavel Yablochkov invented

3744-1612: Is referred to in AS3000:2007 Fault loop impedance calculation). This may limit the length of a branch circuit. In the case of two phases sharing one neutral and the third phase is disconnected, the worst-case current draw is one side has zero load and the other has full load, or when both sides have full load. The latter case results in I m ∠ 0 ∘ + I m ∠ − 120 ∘ = I m ∠ − 60 ∘ {\displaystyle I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {0}^{\circ }+I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {-120}^{\circ }=I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {-60}^{\circ }} , I m ∠ 0 ∘ + I m ∠ 120 ∘ = I m ∠ 60 ∘ {\displaystyle I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {0}^{\circ }+I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {120}^{\circ }=I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {60}^{\circ }} or I m ∠ 120 ∘ + I m ∠ − 120 ∘ = I m ∠ 180 ∘ {\displaystyle I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {120}^{\circ }+I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {-120}^{\circ }=I_{\mathrm {m} }\angle {180}^{\circ }} where I m {\displaystyle I_{\mathrm {m} }}

3848-401: Is safer. Adding new grounds requires a qualified electrician with knowledge particular to a power distribution region. Neutral is a circuit conductor that normally completes the circuit back to the source. NEC states that the neutral and ground wires should be connected at the neutral point of the transformer or generator, or otherwise some "system neutral point" but not anywhere else. That

3952-446: Is standardized, with an allowable range of voltage over which equipment is expected to operate. Standard power utilization voltages and percentage tolerance vary in the different mains power systems found in the world. High-voltage direct-current (HVDC) electric power transmission systems have become more viable as technology has provided efficient means of changing the voltage of DC power. Transmission with high voltage direct current

4056-567: Is still used in some European rail systems, such as in Austria , Germany , Norway , Sweden and Switzerland . Off-shore, military, textile industry, marine, aircraft, and spacecraft applications sometimes use 400 Hz, for benefits of reduced weight of apparatus or higher motor speeds. Computer mainframe systems were often powered by 400 Hz or 415 Hz for benefits of ripple reduction while using smaller internal AC to DC conversion units. A direct current flows uniformly throughout

4160-415: Is the magnitude of the current. In other words the magnitude of the current in the neutral equals that of the other two wires. In a three-phase linear circuit with three identical resistive or reactive loads, the neutral carries no current. The neutral carries current if the loads on each phase are not identical. In some jurisdictions, the neutral is allowed to be reduced in size if no unbalanced current flow

4264-422: Is therefore V peak − ( − V peak ) = 2 V peak {\displaystyle V_{\text{peak}}-(-V_{\text{peak}})=2V_{\text{peak}}} . Below an AC waveform (with no DC component ) is assumed. The RMS voltage is the square root of the mean over one cycle of the square of the instantaneous voltage. The relationship between voltage and

Alternating current - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-425: Is used to transmit information , as in the cases of telephone and cable television . Information signals are carried over a wide range of AC frequencies. POTS telephone signals have a frequency of about 3 kHz, close to the baseband audio frequency. Cable television and other cable-transmitted information currents may alternate at frequencies of tens to thousands of megahertz. These frequencies are similar to

4472-444: Is wye- or star-wound. Three-phase transformers and their associated neutrals are usually found in industrial distribution environments. A system could be made entirely ungrounded. In this case a fault between one phase and ground would not cause any significant current. Commonly the neutral is grounded (earthed) through a bond between the neutral bar and the earth bar. It is common on larger systems to monitor any current flowing through

4576-847: The Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 8, 1886. The new firm became active in developing alternating current (AC) electric infrastructure throughout the United States. The Edison Electric Light Company held an option on the US rights for the Ganz ZBD transformers, requiring Westinghouse to pursue alternative designs on the same principles. George Westinghouse had bought Gaulard and Gibbs' patents for $ 50,000 in February 1886. He assigned to William Stanley

4680-498: The symmetrical components methods discussed by Charles LeGeyt Fortescue in 1918. Waveform In electronics , acoustics , and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its graph as a function of time, independent of its time and magnitude scales and of any displacement in time. Periodic waveforms repeat regularly at a constant period . The term can also be used for non-periodic or aperiodic signals, like chirps and pulses . In electronics,

4784-750: The AC system at the Grosvenor Gallery power station in 1886 for the London Electric Supply Corporation (LESCo) including alternators of his own design and open core transformer designs with serial connections for utilization loads - similar to Gaulard and Gibbs. In 1890, he designed their power station at Deptford and converted the Grosvenor Gallery station across the Thames into an electrical substation , showing

4888-476: The NEC for so-called technical equipment, mainly professional grade audio and video equipment supplied by so-called "balanced" 120 volt circuits. The center tap of a transformer is connected to ground, and the equipment is supplied by two line wires each 60 volts to ground (and 120 volts between line conductors). The center tap is not distributed to the equipment and no neutral conductor is used. These cases generally use

4992-419: The appliance but neutral is never used as a chassis/case ground. The small cords to lamps, etc., often have one or more molded ridges or embedded strings to identify the neutral conductor, or may be identified by colour. Portable appliances never use the neutral conductor for case grounding, and often feature " double-insulated " construction. In places where the design of the plug and socket cannot ensure that

5096-414: The appliances was small compared to the rating of the conductors and therefore unlikely to cause a large voltage drop in the neutral conductor. In North American and European practice, small portable equipment connected by a cord set is permitted under certain conditions to have merely two conductors in the attachment plug. A polarized plug can be used to maintain the identity of the neutral conductor into

5200-413: The biggest difference being that waveguides have no inner conductor. Waveguides can have any arbitrary cross section, but rectangular cross sections are the most common. Because waveguides do not have an inner conductor to carry a return current, waveguides cannot deliver energy by means of an electric current , but rather by means of a guided electromagnetic field . Although surface currents do flow on

5304-440: The circuit, the other side of the duplex receptacle will be shut off as well. This is called a multiwire branch circuit . Common trip is required when the connected load uses more than one phase simultaneously. The common trip prevents overloading of the shared neutral if one device draws more than rated current. A ground connection that is missing or of inadequate capacity may not provide the protective functions as intended during

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5408-547: The city of Pomona, California , which was 14 miles away. Meanwhile, the possibility of transferring electrical power from a waterfall at a distance was explored at the Grängesberg mine in Sweden. A 45  m fall at Hällsjön, Smedjebackens kommun, where a small iron work had been located, was selected. In 1893, a three-phase 9.5  kv system was used to transfer 400 horsepower a distance of 15  km , becoming

5512-507: The cost of conductors and energy losses. A bipolar open-core power transformer developed by Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs was demonstrated in London in 1881, and attracted the interest of Westinghouse . They also exhibited the invention in Turin in 1884. However, these early induction coils with open magnetic circuits are inefficient at transferring power to loads . Until about 1880,

5616-514: The cross-section of a homogeneous electrically conducting wire. An alternating current of any frequency is forced away from the wire's center, toward its outer surface. This is because an alternating current (which is the result of the acceleration of electric charge ) creates electromagnetic waves (a phenomenon known as electromagnetic radiation ). Electric conductors are not conducive to electromagnetic waves (a perfect electric conductor prohibits all electromagnetic waves within its boundary), so

5720-410: The cross-sectional area. A conductor's AC resistance is higher than its DC resistance, causing a higher energy loss due to ohmic heating (also called IR loss). For low to medium frequencies, conductors can be divided into stranded wires, each insulated from the others, with the relative positions of individual strands specially arranged within the conductor bundle. Wire constructed using this technique

5824-476: The design of electric motors, particularly for hoisting, crushing and rolling applications, and commutator-type traction motors for applications such as railways . However, low frequency also causes noticeable flicker in arc lamps and incandescent light bulbs . The use of lower frequencies also provided the advantage of lower transmission losses, which are proportional to frequency. The original Niagara Falls generators were built to produce 25 Hz power, as

5928-427: The electrical distribution system for a milking parlour. Connecting the neutral to the equipment case provides some protection against faults, but may produce a dangerous voltage on the case if the neutral connection is broken. Combined neutral and ground conductors are commonly used in electricity supply companies ' wiring and occasionally for fixed wiring in buildings and for some specialist applications where there

6032-508: The electrical system to a safe state. All bond wires are bonded to ground at the main service panel, as is the neutral/identified conductor if present. The frequency of the electrical system varies by country and sometimes within a country; most electric power is generated at either 50 or 60  Hertz . Some countries have a mixture of 50 Hz and 60 Hz supplies, notably electricity power transmission in Japan . A low frequency eases

6136-521: The electromagnetic wave frequencies often used to transmit the same types of information over the air . The first alternator to produce alternating current was an electric generator based on Michael Faraday 's principles constructed by the French instrument maker Hippolyte Pixii in 1832. Pixii later added a commutator to his device to produce the (then) more commonly used direct current. The earliest recorded practical application of alternating current

6240-412: The experiments; In their joint 1885 patent applications for novel transformers (later called ZBD transformers), they described two designs with closed magnetic circuits where copper windings were either wound around a ring core of iron wires or else surrounded by a core of iron wires. In both designs, the magnetic flux linking the primary and secondary windings traveled almost entirely within the confines of

6344-477: The first commercial application.In 1893, Westinghouse built an alternating current system for the Chicago World Exposition . In 1893, Decker designed the first American commercial three-phase power plant using alternating current—the hydroelectric Mill Creek No. 1 Hydroelectric Plant near Redlands, California . Decker's design incorporated 10 kV three-phase transmission and established

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6448-439: The following provisions: Stray voltages created in grounding (earthing) conductors by currents flowing in the supply utility neutral conductors can be troublesome. For example, special measures may be required in barns used for milking dairy cattle. Very small voltages, not usually perceptible to humans, may cause low milk yield, or even mastitis (inflammation of the udder). So-called "tingle voltage filters" may be required in

6552-564: The inner walls of the waveguides, those surface currents do not carry power. Power is carried by the guided electromagnetic fields. The surface currents are set up by the guided electromagnetic fields and have the effect of keeping the fields inside the waveguide and preventing leakage of the fields to the space outside the waveguide. Waveguides have dimensions comparable to the wavelength of the alternating current to be transmitted, so they are feasible only at microwave frequencies. In addition to this mechanical feasibility, electrical resistance of

6656-404: The installation of grounding conductors and neutral conductors is carefully defined in electrical regulations . Where a neutral conductor is used also to connect equipment enclosures to earth, care must be taken that the neutral conductor never rises to a high voltage with respect to local ground. Ground or earth in a mains ( AC power) electrical wiring system is a conductor that provides

6760-508: The iron core, with no intentional path through air (see toroidal cores ). The new transformers were 3.4 times more efficient than the open-core bipolar devices of Gaulard and Gibbs. The Ganz factory in 1884 shipped the world's first five high-efficiency AC transformers. This first unit had been manufactured to the following specifications: 1,400 W, 40 Hz, 120:72 V, 11.6:19.4 A, ratio 1.67:1, one-phase, shell form. The ZBD patents included two other major interrelated innovations: one concerning

6864-622: The limitations of the direct current system. In 1886, the ZBD engineers designed the world's first power station that used AC generators to power a parallel-connected common electrical network, the steam-powered Rome-Cerchi power plant. The reliability of the AC technology received impetus after the Ganz Works electrified a large European metropolis: Rome in 1886. Building on the advancement of AC technology in Europe, George Westinghouse founded

6968-429: The losses (due mainly to the dielectric separating the inner and outer tubes being a non-ideal insulator) become too large, making waveguides a more efficient medium for transmitting energy. Coaxial cables often use a perforated dielectric layer to separate the inner and outer conductors in order to minimize the power dissipated by the dielectric. Waveguides are similar to coaxial cables, as both consist of tubes, with

7072-419: The lower speed is preferable for larger machines. If the load on a three-phase system is balanced equally among the phases, no current flows through the neutral point . Even in the worst-case unbalanced (linear) load, the neutral current will not exceed the highest of the phase currents. Non-linear loads (e.g. the switch-mode power supplies widely used) may require an oversized neutral bus and neutral conductor in

7176-483: The main street of Great Barrington. The spread of Westinghouse and other AC systems triggered a push back in late 1887 by Thomas Edison (a proponent of direct current), who attempted to discredit alternating current as too dangerous in a public campaign called the " war of the currents ". In 1888, alternating current systems gained further viability with introduction of a functional AC motor , something these systems had lacked up till then. The design, an induction motor ,

7280-538: The maximum value of sin ⁡ ( x ) {\displaystyle \sin(x)} is +1 and the minimum value is −1, an AC voltage swings between + V peak {\displaystyle +V_{\text{peak}}} and − V peak {\displaystyle -V_{\text{peak}}} . The peak-to-peak voltage, usually written as V pp {\displaystyle V_{\text{pp}}} or V P-P {\displaystyle V_{\text{P-P}}} ,

7384-469: The metal chassis of portable appliances and tools. Bonding all non-current-carrying metal parts into one complete system ensures there is always a low electrical impedance path to ground sufficient to carry any fault current for as long as it takes for the system to clear the fault. This low impedance path allows the maximum amount of fault current, causing the overcurrent protection device (breakers, fuses) to trip or burn out as quickly as possible, bringing

7488-440: The neutral conductor is often connected to earth ground at the point of supply. By contrast, a ground conductor is not intended to carry current for normal operation, but instead connects exposed metallic components (such as equipment enclosures or conduits enclosing wiring) to earth ground. A ground conductor only carries significant current if there is a circuit fault that would otherwise energize exposed conductive parts and present

7592-497: The neutral point of the system is at the center-tap on the secondary side of the service transformer. For larger electrical installations, such as those with polyphase service, the neutral point is usually at the common connection on the secondary side of delta/wye connected transformers . Other arrangements of polyphase transformers may result in no neutral point, and no neutral conductors. The IEC standard ( IEC 60364 ) codifies methods of installing neutral and ground conductors in

7696-471: The neutral, and the protective earth conductor bonds all equipment cases to earth to intercept any leakage current due to insulation failure. The neutral conductor is connected to earth at the building point of supply, but no common path to ground exists for circuit current and the protective conductor. In the TN-C system, a common conductor provides both the neutral and protective grounding. The neutral conductor

7800-405: The neutral-to-earth link and use this as the basis for neutral fault protection. The connection between neutral and earth allows any phase-to-earth fault to develop enough current flow to "trip" the circuit overcurrent protection device. In some jurisdictions, calculations are required to ensure the fault loop impedance is low enough so that fault current will trip the protection (In Australia, this

7904-425: The non-ideal metals forming the walls of the waveguide causes dissipation of power (surface currents flowing on lossy conductors dissipate power). At higher frequencies, the power lost to this dissipation becomes unacceptably large. At frequencies greater than 200 GHz, waveguide dimensions become impractically small, and the ohmic losses in the waveguide walls become large. Instead, fiber optics , which are

8008-435: The paradigm for AC power transmission from a high voltage supply to a low voltage load was a series circuit. Open-core transformers with a ratio near 1:1 were connected with their primaries in series to allow use of a high voltage for transmission while presenting a low voltage to the lamps. The inherent flaw in this method was that turning off a single lamp (or other electric device) affected the voltage supplied to all others on

8112-431: The peak voltage (amplitude), we can rearrange the above equation to: For 230 V AC, the peak voltage V peak {\displaystyle V_{\text{peak}}} is therefore 230  V × 2 {\displaystyle 230{\text{ V}}\times {\sqrt {2}}} , which is about 325 V, and the peak power P peak {\displaystyle P_{\text{peak}}}

8216-401: The phase conductor(s), and thicker than normal equipotential bonding must be considered to ensure the system is safe. In the United States, the cases of some kitchen stoves (ranges, ovens), cook tops , clothes dryers and other specifically listed appliances were grounded through their neutral wires as a measure to conserve copper from copper cables during World War II . This practice

8320-423: The phase conductors. In the absolute worst case, the current in the shared neutral conductor can be triple that in each phase conductor. Some jurisdictions prohibit the use of shared neutral conductors when feeding single-phase loads from a three-phase source; others require that the neutral conductor be substantially larger than the phase conductors. It is good practice to use four-pole circuit breakers (as opposed to

8424-610: The power delivered is: where R {\displaystyle R} represents a load resistance. Rather than using instantaneous power, p ( t ) {\displaystyle p(t)} , it is more practical to use a time-averaged power (where the averaging is performed over any integer number of cycles). Therefore, AC voltage is often expressed as a root mean square (RMS) value, written as V rms {\displaystyle V_{\text{rms}}} , because For this reason, AC power's waveform becomes Full-wave rectified sine, and its fundamental frequency

8528-477: The red and black each feed, separately, the top and bottom hot sides of the receptacle. Typically such receptacles are supplied from two circuit breakers in which the handles of two poles are tied together for a common trip. If two large appliances are used at once, current passes through both and the neutral only carries the difference in current. The advantage is that only three wires are required to serve these loads, instead of four. If one kitchen appliance overloads

8632-491: The same circuit. Many adjustable transformer designs were introduced to compensate for this problematic characteristic of the series circuit, including those employing methods of adjusting the core or bypassing the magnetic flux around part of a coil. The direct current systems did not have these drawbacks, giving it significant advantages over early AC systems. In the UK, Sebastian de Ferranti , who had been developing AC generators and transformers in London since 1882, redesigned

8736-414: The same phases with reverse polarity and so can be simply wired together. In practice, higher "pole orders" are commonly used. For example, a 12-pole machine would have 36 coils (10° spacing). The advantage is that lower rotational speeds can be used to generate the same frequency. For example, a 2-pole machine running at 3600 rpm and a 12-pole machine running at 600 rpm produce the same frequency;

8840-411: The skin depth of a copper conductor is approximately 8.57 mm at 60 Hz, so high current conductors are usually hollow to reduce their mass and cost. This tendency of alternating current to flow predominantly in the periphery of conductors reduces the effective cross-section of the conductor. This increases the effective AC resistance of the conductor, since resistance is inversely proportional to

8944-422: The standard three-pole) where the fourth pole is the neutral phase, and is hence protected against overcurrent on the neutral conductor. In split-phase wiring, for example a duplex receptacle in a North American kitchen, devices may be connected with a cable that has three conductors, in addition to ground. The three conductors are usually coloured red, black, and white. The white serves as a common neutral, while

9048-585: The standards for the complete system of generation, transmission and motors used in USA today. The original Niagara Falls Adams Power Plant with three two-phase generators was put into operation in August 1895, but was connected to the remote transmission system only in 1896. The Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant in Croatia was set in operation two days later, on 28 August 1895. Its generator (42 Hz, 240 kW)

9152-410: The supply side. For smaller customers (just how small varies by country and age of the installation) only a single phase and neutral, or two phases and neutral, are taken to the property. For larger installations all three phases and neutral are taken to the main distribution panel. From the three-phase main panel, both single and three-phase circuits may lead off. Three-wire single-phase systems, with

9256-424: The system ground. Neutral conductors are usually insulated for the same voltage as the line conductors, with interesting exceptions. Neutral wires are usually connected at a neutral bus within panelboards or switchboards, and are "bonded" to earth ground at either the electrical service entrance, or at transformers within the system. For electrical installations with split-phase (three-wire single-phase) service,

9360-645: The task of redesigning the Gaulard and Gibbs transformer for commercial use in United States. On March 20, 1886, Stanley conducted a demonstrative experiment in Great Barrington : A Siemens generator's voltage of 500 volts was converted into 3000 volts, and then the voltage was stepped down to 500 volts by six Westinghouse transformers. With this setup, the Westinghouse company successfully powered thirty 100-volt incandescent bulbs in twenty shops along

9464-520: The term is usually applied to time-varying voltages , currents , or electromagnetic fields . In acoustics, it is usually applied to steady periodic sounds — variations of pressure in air or other media. In these cases, the waveform is an attribute that is independent of the frequency , amplitude , or phase shift of the signal. The waveform of an electrical signal can be visualized in an oscilloscope or any other device that can capture and plot its value at various times, with suitable scales in

9568-400: The time and value axes. The electrocardiograph is a medical device to record the waveform of the electric signals that are associated with the beating of the heart ; that waveform has important diagnostic value. Waveform generators , that can output a periodic voltage or current with one of several waveforms, are a common tool in electronics laboratories and workshops. The waveform of

9672-403: The upstream distribution panel to handle harmonics . Harmonics can cause neutral conductor current levels to exceed that of one or all phase conductors. For three-phase at utilization voltages a four-wire system is often used. When stepping down three-phase, a transformer with a Delta (3-wire) primary and a Star (4-wire, center-earthed) secondary is often used so there is no need for a neutral on

9776-574: The use of parallel connected, instead of series connected, utilization loads, the other concerning the ability to have high turns ratio transformers such that the supply network voltage could be much higher (initially 1400 V to 2000 V) than the voltage of utilization loads (100 V initially preferred). When employed in parallel connected electric distribution systems, closed-core transformers finally made it technically and economically feasible to provide electric power for lighting in homes, businesses and public spaces. The other essential milestone

9880-498: The voltage difference between neutral and local earth ground. Current flowing in a grounding conductor will produce a voltage drop along the conductor, and grounding systems seek to ensure this voltage does not reach unsafe levels. In the TN-S system, separate neutral and protective earth conductors are installed between the equipment and the source of supply (generator or electric utility transformer). Normal circuit currents flow only in

9984-516: The way to integrate older plants into a universal AC supply system. In the autumn of 1884, Károly Zipernowsky , Ottó Bláthy and Miksa Déri (ZBD), three engineers associated with the Ganz Works of Budapest, determined that open-core devices were impractical, as they were incapable of reliably regulating voltage. Bláthy had suggested the use of closed cores, Zipernowsky had suggested the use of parallel shunt connections , and Déri had performed

10088-477: The wire are a product of the square of the current ( I ) and the resistance (R) of the wire, described by the formula: This means that when transmitting a fixed power on a given wire, if the current is halved (i.e. the voltage is doubled), the power loss due to the wire's resistance will be reduced to one quarter. The power transmitted is equal to the product of the current and the voltage (assuming no phase difference); that is, Consequently, power transmitted at

10192-559: Was independently invented by Galileo Ferraris and Nikola Tesla (with Tesla's design being licensed by Westinghouse in the US). This design was independently further developed into the modern practical three-phase form by Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky and Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown in Germany on one side, and Jonas Wenström in Sweden on the other, though Brown favoured the two-phase system. A long-distance alternating current transmission

10296-545: Was installed in Telluride Colorado. The first three-phase system was established in 1891 in Frankfurt , Germany. The Tivoli – Rome transmission was completed in 1892. The San Antonio Canyon Generator was the third commercial single-phase hydroelectric AC power plant in the United States to provide long-distance electricity. It was completed on December 31, 1892, by Almarian William Decker to provide power to

10400-696: Was made and installed by the Hungarian company Ganz , while the transmission line from the power plant to the City of Šibenik was 11.5 kilometers (7.1 mi) long, and the municipal distribution grid 3000 V/110 V included six transforming stations. Alternating current circuit theory developed rapidly in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th century. Notable contributors to the theoretical basis of alternating current calculations include Charles Steinmetz , Oliver Heaviside , and many others. Calculations in unbalanced three-phase systems were simplified by

10504-596: Was not feasible in the early days of electric power transmission , as there was then no economically viable way to step the voltage of DC down for end user applications such as lighting incandescent bulbs. Three-phase electrical generation is very common. The simplest way is to use three separate coils in the generator stator , physically offset by an angle of 120° (one-third of a complete 360° phase) to each other. Three current waveforms are produced that are equal in magnitude and 120° out of phase to each other. If coils are added opposite to these (60° spacing), they generate

10608-588: Was removed from the NEC in the 1996 edition, but existing installations (called "old work") may still allow the cases of such listed appliances to be connected to the neutral conductor for grounding. (Canada did not adopt this system and instead during this time and into the present uses separate neutral and ground wires.) This practice arose from the three-wire system used to supply both 120 volt and 240 volt loads. Because these listed appliances often have components that use either 120, or both 120 and 240 volts, there

10712-499: Was the introduction of 'voltage source, voltage intensive' (VSVI) systems' by the invention of constant voltage generators in 1885. In early 1885, the three engineers also eliminated the problem of eddy current losses with the invention of the lamination of electromagnetic cores. Ottó Bláthy also invented the first AC electricity meter . The AC power system was developed and adopted rapidly after 1886 due to its ability to distribute electricity efficiently over long distances, overcoming

10816-752: Was used in 1883 for the Metropolitan Railway station lighting in London , while the single-phase 1884 system in Turin , Italy, was the first multiple-user AC distribution system in the world. The Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant , constructed in 1890, was among the first hydroelectric alternating current power plants. A long distance transmission of single-phase electricity from a hydroelectric generating plant in Oregon at Willamette Falls sent power fourteen miles downriver to downtown Portland for street lighting in 1890. In 1891, another transmission system

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