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Also see current, voltage, and direct current. In electricity, alternating current (AC) occurs when charge carriers in a conductor or semiconductor periodically reverse their direction of movement. Household utility current in most countries is AC with a frequency of 60 hertz (60 complete cycles per second), although in some countries it is 50 Hz. The radio-frequency (RF) current in antennas and transmission lines is another example of AC. An AC waveform can be sinusoidal, square, or sawtooth-shaped. Some AC waveforms are irregular or complicated. An example of sine-wave AC is common household utility current (in the ideal case).
Alternating current - Mathematics of AC voltages. 1  Alternating currents are accompanied (or caused) by alternating voltages. 2  V p e a k {\displaystyle \displaystyle V_ {\rm {peak}}} is the peak voltage (unit: volt), 3  Ï {\displaystyle \displaystyle \omega } is the angular frequency (unit: radians per second)