Alternating Current - Mathematics of AC Voltages

Mathematics of AC Voltages

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

  • is the peak voltage (unit: volt),
  • is the angular frequency (unit: radians per second)
    • The angular frequency is related to the physical frequency, (unit = hertz), which represents the number of cycles per second, by the equation .
  • is the time (unit: second).

The peak-to-peak value of an AC voltage is defined as the difference between its positive peak and its negative peak. Since the maximum value of is +1 and the minimum value is −1, an AC voltage swings between and . The peak-to-peak voltage, usually written as or, is therefore .

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