Electrical Faux Pas

[sparks]

 Can't find delete button sorry for confusing this thread
     

[angryScientist]

@z_p_e

I find a discrepancy between your terminology and mine.

So any time you are "switching" your battery on and off in relatively quick succession (either manually, or with an oscillator and MOSFET switch), this should be considered an AC source.

Switching a direct current on and off is what I, and most everyone else, would call pulsed DC. It is still a direct current because the current would at no time change direction. It will still flow from negative to positive and the two will never switch positions.

That being said I would like everyone else to know that it exceedingly easy for a pulsed DC to turn into an AC current. For instance you could put it through a transformer to get AC out the secondary. Or you could put it through a simple coil and get a reversal of current flow during the off part of the cycle. In some cases you could consider a capacitor to reverse a direct current while it is discharging.

Sorry if I'm nitpicking. The rest of the post was great. I just have full knowledge of the value of having words mean the same thing to the sender as they do to the receiver. It's the only way to communicate.

[z_p_e]

Hi AngryScientist,

You are correct. I would technically call it "pulsed DC" as well.

Sometimes I (and probably many folks) loosely call anything that is changing with time...."AC". Even the "Master" himself called it "AC with a DC component". Sorry for the lazy slip-up.

[wattsup]

z_p_e

I removed my initial questions as you are right to keep this more generic.

[z_p_e]

Wattsup,

Those are pretty specific questions really only pertaining to Otto and Roberto's work. I would encourage you to ask them, as they are more qualified to answer them.

We should try to keep the questions here as generic as possible I would think.

Cheers,
Darren