Alternating current (AC) is one of two types of electrical flow. The other, Direct current (DC), was the predecessor of alternating current. Following the invention of the electric battery by Alessandro Volta in 1800, the next eighty years saw the...

An electric current that regularly alters its direction of flow. The change from one direction to another and back again is known as a cycle. Alternating current is usually supplied at 50 or 60 cycles per second. See also: DIRECT...

An alternating current (AC) is an electrical current whose magnitude and direction vary cyclically, as opposed to direct current, whose direction remains constant. The usual waveform of an AC power circuit is a sine wave, as this results in the most...

The history of rock for the last three decades could be neatly, if a little crudely, depicted as an unending struggle for chart dominance between two great forces: guitar bands and dance music. Broadly speaking, the former puts five-string guitars front and center, while...

Private delivery of magazines has had an uneven history. The concept of an entity that would offer pricing and service alternatives to the Postal Service has intrigued publishers since the 1971 Postal Reorganization Act made periodic second- and third-class rate increases inevitable. A...

The following recalls have been announced:_About 4,100 Pirates of the Caribbean sleeping bags, made in China and imported by Hoop Retail Stores LLC, because the surface paint on the sleeping bag's zipper pull has high levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by children....

Q: Does my cell-phone charger consume electricity if I leave it plugged in to the wall when it's not charging the phone?A: It probably doesn't consume a significant amount, unless you have a really old cell phone. You may have heard that "all power adapters...