Is AC current a vector?

It has long been known that in any simple alternating-current circuit, the current and voltage may be conveniently regarded as rotatable vector quantities. It is also known that the power in such circuits is not to be regarded as the vector product of the rotating vector voltage and rotating vector current.

Why current is not considered a vector even if the direction of current is specified?

A vector quantity is one which has both magnitude and direction. The direction of current is opposite to the flow of electrons. Electric current has both magnitude and direction so ideally it ‘should’ be a vector. But all sources say it’s a scalar just because it does not follow vector addition.

Why electric current is not considered as vector quantity though it can be expressed as in the form direction and magnitude both?

Current isn’t a vector quantity even if it has both magnitude and direction. This is because according to the defination of vector, “Any measurable quantity that has both magnitude and direction and can be added by triangle law of vector addition is called a vector”.

Is AC voltage a vector?

The clear answer is both AC voltage and current are phasors; they cannot be vectors?

Why current is a vector?

Note: Current is a vector because it has a magnitude and a direction. Since current doesn’t obey it and it follows algebraic addition, currents are scalar.

Is AC current a vector or scalar?

Electric current is a scalar quantity. Any physical quantity is termed as a vector quantity when the quantity has magnitude and direction.

Why is electric current not a vector?

Current is not a vector quantity although it have both direction and magnitude. The reason behind is it doesn’t obey the laws of vector algebra! And for a quantity to be a conductor it have to obey two conditions.

Why is current opposite to electron flow?

Electrons being negatively charged flow from the negative terminal to the positive terminal of the voltage source. So, the actual direction of current should be from negative to positive terminal. So, the current flow is considered in the direction opposite to the direction of flow of electrons.

Why is current a vector quantity?

Note: Current is a vector because it has a magnitude and a direction. Since current doesn’t obey it and it follows algebraic addition, currents are scalar. Also, current is written as the dot product of the current density vector and the area vector.

Why current is scalar and current density is vector?

The current is a scalar quantity. Current density is a vector quantity because it’s a product of charge density and velocity, here charge density is a scalar quantity and velocity is a vector quantity, which makes current density also a vector quantity.

Why current is a vector quantity?

Why conventional current is different from electron current?

Conventional Current assumes that current flows out of the positive terminal, through the circuit and into the negative terminal of the source. Electron Flow is what actually happens and electrons flow out of the negative terminal, through the circuit and into the positive terminal of the source.

How do alternating-current circuits work?

Alternating-Current Circuits 12.1 AC Sources In Chapter 10 we learned that changing magnetic flux can induce an emf according to Faraday’s law of induction. In particular, if a coil rotates in the presence of a magnetic field, the induced emf varies sinusoidally with time and leads to an alternating current (AC), and provides a source of AC power.

Can we speak of voltages and currents in an AC circuit?

Correspondingly, with a clearly defined point of reference for phase, it becomes possible to speak of voltages and currents in an AC circuit having definite phase angles.

What does the length of an AC voltage vector represent?

Vector length represents AC voltage magnitude. The greater the amplitude of the waveform, the greater the length of its corresponding vector. The angle of the vector, however, represents the phase shift in degrees between the waveform in question and another waveform acting as a “reference” in time.

What is an example of an AC voltage source?

In particular, if a coil rotates in the presence of a magnetic field, the induced emf varies sinusoidally with time and leads to an alternating current (AC), and provides a source of AC power. The symbol for an AC voltage source is An example of an AC source is Vt()=V0sinωt(12.1.1)