why is DC current stronger than AC current?

Question

i only need 9-12 volts DC to power my portable stereo when i go on roadtrips, but i need over 100 AC when i plug it in at home.

Answer 1

AC & DC of the same voltage can push the same amount of current through a wire. In regular use however, we never see them at the same voltage. There is no DC power transmission, and no one makes AC batteries.

Your portable stereo either has an adapter to lower the 120VAC house voltage & convert it to DC, or has circuitry to raise your 12VDC car voltage & convert it to AC. The former is more likely. Since homes have 120VAC power, most appliances that use lower voltage DC have adapters, either built-in or external.

Answer 2

DC current is not stronger than AC. Voltage is not the same as current. you measure current in amperes, you measure power in volts. It does not matter whether it's AC or DC. When you plug your device to a 100 volt AC power source it doesn't mean your device needs a 100 volt to operate in AC. There is a transformer and other components (Wheatstone bridge) inside your device or power adapter that will transform 100 Volt Ac into 9 Volt DC.
Hope this helps

Answer 3

it isn't that dc is stronger than ac current. it is to do with what voltage is avalible ie at home the supply is avalible as either 110 volts or 220 volts depending on what voltage is used in any particular country , this voltage is then reduced by a step down transformer and rectified to convert it to 9 - 12 volts dc used by the portable stereo systems electronics

Answer 4

It's not. You may use 9-12 Volts DC, but at how many Amps? When you use AC at home, at 100 Volts your stereo will be using few Amps. The product of the Amps and Volts (Watts) will be the same or very close.

Answer 5

DC is not any "stronger" than AC

The only reason you use 100 VAC at home, is because that's what there, and that's what the standard is. When you plug it in, it gets steped down to 9-12 volts AC, and then rectified into DC voltage.

The amount of POWER used is exactly the same in both cases.

Answer 6

Just to clarify the first answer, current is measured in Amps, power is measured in Watts (not volts) and voltage is measured in volts. Your portable stereo (as most appliances) work with DC, so if you plug it at home the transformer inside the appliance would reduce the voltage lets say from 120v to around 20V (this is still AC) then it goes into a rectifier to get just a single polarity (generally using diodes), now it's a DC voltage and finally it goes into a regulator to set the voltage at the desired level, lets say 12v DC. And that's the answer.

Answer 7

Depends on the device. Most devices are independent of whether the supply is AC or DC. Notable exceptions are motors and transformers. They will be damaged if you apply the wrong type of power. Semiconductors can, in the proper circuit, work with AC or DC. But if you apply AC to a circuit designed for DC, you may damage components.

Answer 8

Easy answer DC direct current continuous power

AC alternating current current is only turned on once every 60 seconds

Answer 9

Aaron G says "AC alternating current current is only turned on once every 60 seconds"

Rubbish. You are talking through the back of your neck.

Answer 10

dc /ac same current formula ac is easily converted thru transformers to decrease voltage to amperage in proportion very efficiently 99.9 % then rectified(converted)to one direction flow then stored to create a more continous flow of current ,so as to be free of pulses
of on /off effect -alternating current to and from +/_,+/_,+/_
the generating station 60 times a second the rectifier
stops the return flow in one direction creating one direction ie.......++++++++ 60 times in
one second filling into storage(swimming pool)capacitor
then just to dump the over flow. -this depends on the current of the transformer vs the load (the stereo)
this is why you have to have bigger batteries for bigger
stereos ie ...your car stereo vs walkman and in the same respect for most kids........ your little stereo vs your dads stereo in the house his will have bigger transformer vs yours ......mind you... dont go exploring you might die ....either from voltages or your dad