Talk:direct current

RFV discussion: June–October 2022
Rfv-sense (physics) An electric circuit in which voltage and current do not vary with time. "I built a direct current today."? Surely not. &mdash; Fytcha〈 T | L | C 〉 21:35, 24 June 2022 (UTC)
 * While we’re at it, shouldn’t the first two sense be merged into “An electric current that flows in one direction only”? After all, there is no such thing as a constant current that can alternate in direction, so sense 2 is subsumed by sense 1. --Lambiam 09:59, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * Mathematically, the functions that fit 2 are a subset of the functions that fit 1. Hence, 2 is a subsense of 1. I support keeping them separate, if for nothing else, because of the translations but I'm not opposed to making 2 a subsense. &mdash; Fytcha〈 T | L | C 〉 10:18, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * IMO nothing is lost by ditching the other translation tables. Inasmuch as they differ from the first, these are not current (sorry) terms, with the exception of, which can be moved to the first table. As the term direct current is normally used, it implies the voltage is kept reasonably stable (Merriam–Webster: “an electric current flowing in one direction only and substantially constant in value ”; Collins: “a continuous electric current that flows in one direction only, without substantial variation in magnitude ”; Penguin Random House/HarperCollins: “an electric current of constant direction, having a magnitude that does not vary or varies only slightly ”). This is (IMO) more a pragmatic than a definitional issue; as we define as “An item of furniture with a flat top surface raised above the ground, usually on one or more legs”, we also do not specify that these legs have more or less the same length, with another sense for tables with legs of different lengths, such as exist.  --Lambiam 11:00, 26 June 2022 (UTC)
 * This is an RfV. Are there citations that support def 3 as distinct from def 1? (For that matter, are there any that support def 3 as distinct from def 1?) Also, a potentiometer-controlled circuit that leads to varying voltages is still usually called a DC circuit, isn't it? DCDuring (talk) 14:36, 26 June 2022 (UTC)

RFV-failed This, that and the other (talk) 11:37, 9 October 2022 (UTC)