I was talking to an electrician doing some work in my building and
started asking some questions about AC. My electrical knowledge is
quite limited, but in the course of the conversation, I said something
about the the flow of current reversing direction twice every 60th of
a second. He said "No, the ACTUAL current always flows in one
direction from the hot to the neutral and it's the AMOUNT of current
flowing that alternates." Isn't that the definition of modulated DC,
not AC? I couldn't make any sense of his explanation of what he meant
by "actual current", but he insisted that current flows in ONE
DIRECTION ONLY. I really don't get what he's talking about - but he's
the professional. Can someone fill me in?

I was talking to an electrician doing some work in my building and
started asking some questions about AC.

You're right, he's wrong.

Most electricians don't know much about electricity; all they know is wiring
codes.

--
Jim Johnson

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 18:01:32 -0400, apa wrote
(in article ) :

I was talking to an electrician doing some work in my building and
started asking some questions about AC. My electrical knowledge is
quite limited, but in the course of the conversation, I said something
about the the flow of current reversing direction twice every 60th of
a second. He said "No, the ACTUAL current always flows in one
direction from the hot to the neutral and it's the AMOUNT of current
flowing that alternates." Isn't that the definition of modulated DC,
not AC? I couldn't make any sense of his explanation of what he meant
by "actual current", but he insisted that current flows in ONE
DIRECTION ONLY. I really don't get what he's talking about - but he's
the professional. Can someone fill me in?

Hmm,

I've been wrong then, for years.

Regards,

Ty Ford



-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at http://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford

On 16 Jun 2004 15:01:32 -0700, (apa) wrote:

I was talking to an electrician doing some work in my building and
started asking some questions about AC. My electrical knowledge is
quite limited, but in the course of the conversation, I said something
about the the flow of current reversing direction twice every 60th of
a second. He said "No, the ACTUAL current always flows in one
direction from the hot to the neutral and it's the AMOUNT of current
flowing that alternates." Isn't that the definition of modulated DC,
not AC? I couldn't make any sense of his explanation of what he meant
by "actual current", but he insisted that current flows in ONE
DIRECTION ONLY. I really don't get what he's talking about - but he's
the professional. Can someone fill me in?


He's right in a practical sort of way. Your "live" wire provides the
voltage. The "neutral" is tied to ground. Live does the pumping,
neutral is passive. It's a good way to think if your priority is
wiring a house safely.

CubaseFAQ www.laurencepayne.co.uk/CubaseFAQ.htm
"Possibly the world's least impressive web site": George Perfect

Sounds like before he was an electrician he was a plumber.

"apa" wrote in message
om...
I was talking to an electrician doing some work in my building and
started asking some questions about AC. My electrical knowledge is
quite limited, but in the course of the conversation, I said something
about the the flow of current reversing direction twice every 60th of
a second. He said "No, the ACTUAL current always flows in one
direction from the hot to the neutral and it's the AMOUNT of current
flowing that alternates." Isn't that the definition of modulated DC,
not AC? I couldn't make any sense of his explanation of what he meant
by "actual current", but he insisted that current flows in ONE
DIRECTION ONLY. I really don't get what he's talking about - but he's
the professional. Can someone fill me in?

On 16 Jun 2004 15:01:32 -0700, (apa) wrote:


He said "No, the ACTUAL current always flows in one
direction from the hot to the neutral and it's the AMOUNT of current
flowing that alternates."


This man isn't dead yet?



Kurt Riemann

In article writes:

Sounds like before he was an electrician he was a plumber.

They both deal with flow. The big difference is that electricity can
flow uphill.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo