11-02-2014, 10:23 AM
It's only DC if it's not changing. Perhaps a battery.
Everything else is AC with a DC offset.
Just because a signal has a large DC offset and therefore isn't able to cross 0V, that does not make it DC.
And that's the answer to the initial question - it's an AC signal sitting on a DC offset. The fact the overall waveform fails to cross 0V does not make it DC. DC is a straight line.
Don't forget that we've been talking about voltages, but AC stands for Alternating Current. As soon as you feed that waveform into a real-world capacitive load - even a cable - then current will flow in both directions. So you see, it is AC after all. Would I lie to you
Mark
Everything else is AC with a DC offset.
Just because a signal has a large DC offset and therefore isn't able to cross 0V, that does not make it DC.
And that's the answer to the initial question - it's an AC signal sitting on a DC offset. The fact the overall waveform fails to cross 0V does not make it DC. DC is a straight line.
Don't forget that we've been talking about voltages, but AC stands for Alternating Current. As soon as you feed that waveform into a real-world capacitive load - even a cable - then current will flow in both directions. So you see, it is AC after all. Would I lie to you
Mark
