directional cables?

Herman

So yes and yes, as long as you keep flipping the switch it flows back and forth.

Ok.

So you agree that when I flip the switch one way for 10 seconds, there is "current" "flowing." And if I flip it the other way for ten seconds, there is also "current" "flowing."

Ok.

Next question.

When I flip the switch one way, the current flows in one direction. When I flip it the other way, it flows in a direction opposite the first.

Is this "current" that's "flowing" not also "alternating" with respect to direction?

Don't waste your time with a 200 word reply. A simple yes or no is all that's necessary.

Jea, There are positive and negative charges and they are what they are. They do not change from positive to negative. In the case of a wire there are negative charges in motion but in some mediums there are + charges in motion and in some there are both.

So it isn't + 0 - 0 + 0 - as in the charges are changing polarity it is L 0 R 0 L 0 as in the negative charges are vibrating left and right around a zero point.

If electric current is the movement of charge what is wrong with using the word current in place of the word charge?

Any place you see "current" you can substitute "movement of charge." If you say movement of current you are saying movement of movement of charge. It is redundant.

Look at it this way. In order for something to move it must exist. Current is not a thing or a form of energy, it is a word that describes movement. If water stops flowing the water is still there but there is no current. Did the current just disappear? No, it never existed, it is a concept, not a thing.

With the load consuming power from the supplying alternating voltage source explain the process movement of current to the load.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for asking. That question is a perfect example of why "alternating current flow" is a very bad description of what is going on.

In a nutshell AC current does not move or flow to the load.. That is the very heart of my debate with simply_q.

As stated above current does not move. Current means something is moving. If we switch to charge instead of current then those don't move to the load either. The charges in an AC circuit merely sit there and vibrate.

Power isn't moving to the load either. Power is the rate at which we transfer energy. Power is not a thing, it is not energy, it cannot be moved or consumed.

So what's moving from the source to the load? Energy. A wave of electromagnetic energy moves down the wire and the energy in it is transferred to the load. Charges are vibrating everywhere around the path but energy is flowing in one direction...source to load. It is converted into another form of energy like heat or light, or motion, or it is launched into space if the load is an antenna.

So there you go Q, the debate has come full circle. I kicked this off by saying it was a bad idea to use that phrase because it confused people and did not describe what was happening. Most people will tell you it means current is flowing to the load just like Jea.

You can word play and try to say that vibrating electrons is what alternating current means but you know as well as I do that isn't true. If you conduct a survey the vast majority of people will incorrectly tell you that AC current flows along the wire to the load just like Jea did. Your example with the switch has nothing to do with the common meaning of the phrase so it deserves no more attention. You can't seriously continue in that vein.

Scene from the holy grail after Arthur has chopped off both of the Black Knight's arms

Arthur ...... Look you stupid bastard, you've got no arms left

Black Knight ....... Yes I have

Arthur ....... LOOK!! (pointing to his obvious lack of arms)

Black Knight ...... Just a flesh wound.

.

So there you go Q, the debate has come full circle. I kicked this off by saying it was a bad idea to use that phrase because it confused people and did not describe what was happening.

"Alternating current" describes current which flows alternately in one direction and then the opposite quite perfectly.

What is happening is current is flowing alternately in one direction and then the opposite. Can't think of a better description of that than "alternating current."

Most people will tell you it means current is flowing to the load just like Jea.

I don't see that as being due to any confusion CAUSED by the term "alternating current" and its common definition. It's a very easily understood concept.

The only confusion I can see coming about would be trying to reach conclusions based solely on that basic concept without the benefit of knowing some circuit basics. Not by the concept itself.

Your example with the switch has nothing to do with the common meaning of the phrase so it deserves no more attention.

It has everything to do with the common meaning of the phrase. The common meaning of the phrase is current which alternately changes direction.

You yourself agreed to this very thing.

When I flip the switch in one position for ten seconds, there is "current" "flowing." When I flip the switch in the other position for ten seconds, there is "current" "flowing."

When I flip the switch in one position, the "current" "flows" in one direction and when I flip the switch in the opposite position, the "current" "flows" in a direction opposite the first.

Hence, we have an "alternating" "current." And if I keep doing this, we have an "alternating" "current" in which the change in the direction of "flow" is "periodic."

We have the same thing whether I am mechanically flipping a switch that alternately changes the polarity of a battery or a power amplifier outputting a signal which alternately changes polarity.

You can't seriously continue in that vein.

It's you who can't seriously continue in that vein. That's because you've dug yourself into a hole. I saw you grab the shovel some time back when you said "How can the charge carriers (electrons) be traveling back and forth when the charges are all going in one direction?" That and your bit about the electrons flowing down the wire at nearly the speed of light.

Then the word games started.