AC and DC weirdness

Thread Starter

AlbertHall

Joined Jun 4, 2014
12,345
We commonly speak of AC and DC, alternating current and direct current, when we are referring alternating or direct voltages.
Even more weird, we use ACV and DCV - alternating current voltage and direct current voltage.

How did this come about?
 

dendad

Joined Feb 20, 2016
4,452
Probably the same way as ATM machines came to be used.
It is odd but the meaning gets across ok. I still refer to my DSO as a CRO, but then I'm old ;)
 

nsaspook

Joined Aug 27, 2009
13,086
I guess it depends on how you view 'electricity' as a egg n chicken problem.
Typically we see: An energy source causing movement (in one direction or alternating) of electric charge (Current sources) -> electric field due to charge separation that results in electric potential (energy). We then see Voltage as the potential difference between two points that can move charge in a circuit as part of a system to transport that energy.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
29,979
We commonly speak of AC and DC, alternating current and direct current, when we are referring alternating or direct voltages.
Even more weird, we use ACV and DCV - alternating current voltage and direct current voltage.

How did this come about?
AC and DC are just labels for two fundamentally different types of power systems. They could be called Niks and Eds for all that it really matters. The unfortunate part is that the labels are sufficiently descriptive to lead people to believe that they are definitions instead of labels.
 

kubeek

Joined Sep 20, 2005
5,794
In czech language we just call the quantities alternating and direct without the current part, so the same abbreviation can refer to both current and voltage. I don´t belive anyone is going to change the english nomenclature now, after 150 or something years of using the terms.
 
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ElectricSpidey

Joined Dec 2, 2017
2,758
We commonly speak of AC and DC, alternating current and direct current, when we are referring alternating or direct voltages.
Even more weird, we use ACV and DCV - alternating current voltage and direct current voltage.

How did this come about?
I guess I'm weird, because I don't find that weird.
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
We commonly speak of AC and DC, alternating current and direct current, when we are referring alternating or direct voltages.
Even more weird, we use ACV and DCV - alternating current voltage and direct current voltage.

How did this come about?
There are two basic types of power sources: Alternating current, known as AC, and direct current known as DC. There are such familiar terms the expansion of AC into "alternating current" or DC into "direct current" are quite pedantic and unnecessary. "AC" and "DC" become the operational terms themselves, and should not be expanded.

If one still wants to expand the terms then "ACV" should be expanded into "source of Alternating Current voltage" Of course both voltage and current are both properties of a source, and read this way you avoid the confusion of "alternating current voltage"

Thus "AC volts" and "DC volts," and their abbreviations "ACV" and "DCV" are quite correct terms. One could of course talk about "alternating voltage" and "direct voltage" or "AV" and "DV" but here you are making up your own nomenclature that will be misunderstood.
 
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