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ALTERNATING CURRENT CIRCUIT

Physics SS 3 Week 1

Topic: ALTERNATING CURRENT CIRCUIT

ALTERNATING CURRENT

A.C. circuits are circuits through which an alternating current ows. Such circuits are used extensively in
power transmission, radio, telecommunication and medicine.
Alternating currents are produced by time dependent alternating voltages given by the relation E = E0
sin ωt. Much of what we learned about d.c. circuits also apply to a.c. circuits. The e ects on such
voltages on resistors, capacitors and inductors will be discussed.
Nomenclature in A.C Circuits
An Alternating Current (A.C.) is one that varies sinusoidally or periodically, in such a way as to reverse its
direction periodically. The commonest form of such an a.c. can be represented by
I = I0 sin 2πft
I0 sin ωt
Where I is the instantaneous current at a time t, I0 is the maximum (or peak) value of current or its
amplitude; f is the frequency and ω (= 2πft) is the angular velocity, (ωt) is the phase angle of the current.
Alternating is also represented by
V = V0 sin 2πft
= V0 = ωt
Here, v, v0 are the instantaneous and peak (or maximum) values of the voltages or its amplitude
Example
If an a.c. voltage is represented by the relation V = 4 sin 900vπt, the peak voltage V0 = 4
V and 2πft = 900πt or f = 900/2 = 450 Hz. Then ω = 2πf = 900π.
Peak, and r.m.s Values of A.C.
An alternating current (or voltage) varies sinusoidally as shown below which is a sine waveform. The
amplitude or peak value of the current I0, is the maximum numerical value of the current.

The root mean square (r.m.s.) value of the current is the e ective value of the current.
Root-mean-square current is that steady current which will develop the same quantity of heat in the
same time in the same resistance.
The r.m.s. value for the current is given by
Ir.m.s =I0/√2
= 0.070I0
The moving iron and the hot-wire meters measure the average value of the square of the current called
the mean square current. They are however calibrated in such a way as to indicate the r.m.s. current
directly. Thus most a.c. meters read the e ective or r.m.s. values. The average value of an a.c. voltage or
current is zero.
Resistance in A.C Circuit
At any instance the current through the resistor (R) is I and the voltage across it is V

From Ohm’s law we have that V = IR

Thus the current is given by I = V/R
If we put V = V0 sin ωt, then the current is also given by
I =V/R = V0sin ωt/R
= I0 sin ωt
The voltmeter and ammeter connected in the circuit will read the r.m.s. value of voltage and current.
Hence we can also write that Ir.m.s. = Vr.m.s. /R
The voltage and the current are said to be in phase or in step with each other. This means that both of
them attain their maximum, zero and minimum values at the same instant in time.
Example
Find the root mean square value of the sinusoidal voltage with peak value at 260V.
Solution
Using V0 = √2 x Vr.m.s.
Given that V0 = 260V, Vr.m.s. =?
V = √2Vr.m.s. ; 260 = √2Vr.m.s.
260 = 1.414Vr.m.s.
Vr.m.s = 260/1.414 = 183.867 = 184V

Capacitance in AC Circuits

When capacitors are connected across a direct current DC supply voltage they become charged to the
value of the applied voltage, acting like temporary storage devices and maintain or hold this charge
inde nitely as long as the supply voltage is present. During this charging process, a charging current, ( i )
will ow into the capacitor opposing any changes to the voltage at a rate that is equal to the rate of
change of the electrical charge on the plates.
This charging current can be de ned as: i = CdV/dt. Once the capacitor is “fully-charged” the capacitor
blocks the ow of any more electrons onto its plates as they have become saturated. However, if we
apply an alternating current or AC supply, the capacitor will alternately charge and discharge at a rate
determined by the frequency of the supply. Then the Capacitance in AC circuits varies with frequency
as the capacitor is being constantly charged and discharged.
We know that the ow of electrons through the capacitor is directly proportional to the rate of change
of the voltage across the plates. Then, we can see that capacitors in AC circuits like to pass current
when the voltage across its plates is constantly changing with respect to time such as in AC signals, but
it does not like to pass current when the applied voltage is of a constant value such as in DC signals.
Consider the circuit below.

AC Capacitor Circuit
In the purely capacitive circuit above, the capacitor is connected directly across the AC supply voltage.
As the supply voltage increases and decreases, the capacitor charges and discharges with respect to
this change. We know that the charging current is directly proportional to the rate of change of the
voltage across the plates with this rate of change at its greatest as the supply voltage crosses over from
its positive half cycle to its negative half cycle or vice versa at points, 0o and 180o along the sine wave.
Consequently, the least voltage change occurs when the AC sine wave crosses over at its maximum or
minimum peak voltage level, (Vm). At these positions in the cycle the maximum or minimum currents
are owing through the capacitor circuit and this is shown below.

AC Capacitor Phasor Diagram

Capacitive Reactance

Capacitive Reactance in a purely capacitive circuit is the opposition to current ow in AC circuits only.
Like resistance, reactance is also measured in Ohm’s but is given the symbol X to distinguish it from a
purely resistive value. As reactance can also be applied to Inductors as well as Capacitors it is more
commonly known as Capacitive Reactance for capacitors in AC circuits and is given the symbol Xc so
we can actually say that Capacitive Reactance is Resistance that varies with frequency. Also, capacitive
reactance depends on the value of the capacitor in Farads as well as the frequency of the AC waveform
and the formula used to de ne capacitive reactance is given as:
Capacitive Reactance
Xc = 1/2πfc = 1/ωC
Where:
F is in Hertz and C is in Farads.
2πF can also be expressed collectively as the Greek letter Omega, ω to denote an angular frequency.
From the capacitive reactance formula above, it can be seen that if either of the Frequency or
Capacitance where to be increased the overall capacitive reactance would decrease. As the frequency
approaches in nity the capacitors reactance would reduce to zero acting like a perfect conductor.
However, as the frequency approaches zero or DC, the capacitors reactance would increase up to
in nity, acting like a very large resistance. This means then that capacitive reactance is “Inversely
proportional” to frequency for any given value of Capacitance and this shown below:

Question
1. Find the r.m.s. value of an alternating current whose peak value is 5 amps.
A. 3.53 Amps B. 4.5 Amps C. 2.19 Amps D. 6.50 Amps
2. Which of these is not correct, A.C. circuits are circuits through which an alternating current ows. Such
circuits are used extensively in
A. Power transmission B. Radio C. Telecommunication D. Automobile
3. In an A.C. circuit the peak value of the potential di erence is 180 V. What is the instantaneous p.d,
when it has reached 1/8th of a cycle?
A. 80 Volts B. 90√2 Volts C. 80√2 Volts D. 90 Volts
4. A 240V supply is connected with a resistor of 20 in an A.C. circuit. Find the current in the circuit
A. 15 A B. 23 A C. 12 A D. 34 A
5. At frequency of 50Hz, a capacitor of 5μF is connected to a circuit of 230V supply. Find the capacitive
reactance.
A. 630Ω B. 636.62Ω C. 790Ω D. 430.77Ω
Answer
1. A 2. D 3. B 4. C 5. B

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