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clean up & uniformity
There are two common situations in which this occurs:
There are two common situations in which this occurs:
*The voltage might be undulating in a regular manner; the rate at which the voltage repeats itself is called the [[frequency]]. This is almost universally done for electrical power transmission, the reason being that this makes it possible for voltages to be changed by [[transformer]]s, devices which only work on AC<ref>http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_glossary.html</ref>. The frequency is measured in [[Hertz]] (abbreviated Hz). For power distribution, the frequency is almost always 60 Hz, or 60 complete cycles (zero, positive, zero, negative) per second.
*The voltage might be undulating in a regular manner; the rate at which the voltage repeats itself is called the [[frequency]]. This is almost universally done for electrical power transmission, the reason being that this makes it possible for voltages to be changed by [[transformer]]s, devices which only work on AC.<ref>http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/solar_glossary.html</ref> The frequency is measured in [[Hertz]] (abbreviated Hz). For power distribution, the frequency is almost always 60 Hz, or 60 complete cycles (zero, positive, zero, negative) per second.
*:
*:
:Regularly undulating voltages are also used for all forms of electromagnetic transmission—radio, television, cell phone, etc. In this case the frequency is often measured in [[Metric_system|Megahertz]] or Gigahertz.
:Regularly undulating voltages are also used for all forms of electromagnetic transmission—radio, television, cell phone, etc. In this case the frequency is often measured in [[Metric system|Megahertz]] or Gigahertz.
*Any type of varying signal, such as an audio signal, is often characterized as "AC". Audio signals don't generally have a specific frequency, they are described as being contained in a "band" of frequencies, but they are still called AC. If the long-term average voltage of a signal is nonzero, that average is often called the "DC component", while the signal with the DC component subtracted is called the "AC component".
*Any type of varying signal, such as an audio signal, is often characterized as "AC". Audio signals don't generally have a specific frequency, they are described as being contained in a "band" of frequencies, but they are still called AC. If the long-term average voltage of a signal is nonzero, that average is often called the "DC component", while the signal with the DC component subtracted is called the "AC component".
==See Also==
==See also==
* [[Direct current]] (DC)
* [[Direct current]] (DC)
* [[Inverter]] - transforms DC into AC
* [[Inverter]] - transforms DC into AC