interaction

Voltage or current whose direction changes periodically over time. It passes through zero when the direction changes, and the average becomes zero as the positive and negative values cancel each other out. The basic form is a sine wave, but when harmonic components are added, it becomes a distorted wave. When converting alternating current to direct current, the average value is zero, so the root mean square (RMS) value is used. RMS is calculated by squaring the voltage or current, integrating it over one cycle, dividing by the period, and then taking the square root of the result.