Article
Article
Direct current
Article By:
Robb, D. D. D. D. Robb and Associates, Consulting Engineers, Salina, Kansas.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.198910
Electric current that flows in one direction only through a circuit or equipment. The associated direct voltages, in contrast to alternating voltages, are of unchanging polarity. Direct current corresponds to a drift or displacement of electric charge in one unvarying direction around the closed loop or loops of an electric circuit. Direct currents and voltages may be of constant magnitude or may vary with time.
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