Hello all.. Noobie to this web site and first question!

Just checking out this website. Got here researching Ac to Dc transformers. The page that I opened is here: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/al … ent-dc/all

Alternating Current: Water Analogy

My Father loved explaining electricity (volts and amps) using a water hose analogy and the adjustable hose nozzle as a way to think about increased or decreased voltage. This is a very safe and easy/cheap way to teach a kid about high and low voltage using the adjustable needle nozzle and how it kinda hurts when we touch the water coming out with that much force and small Nozzle hole = high voltage/ low amps … I asked well what would High voltage High amps be like? He Explained, " If you ever come across a fire hydrant broken off at the base try touching the stream coming out or better yet try running and jumping through it… Thats high voltage/ high amps !

Keep up the Good Work. Education is a never ending process. Thanks.

My Question: Ive built one of these “Metal Melters” that i found plans for on the internet. Its basically a large Microwave transformer that is disasembled and one of the coils removed and replaced with the heaviest gaged insulated wire you can possible find and bend to fit one loop through the transformer and then weld the transormer back together. leaving the ends of the loop you created exposed and with good length on the leads. you then wire up the untouched coil of transformer to 110 ac volts and the thing starts buzzing. You then touch the leads of the loop to a nail on each side and the nail turns red hot and eventually melts. My question is what kind of current is coming out of the loop is it Ac or DC? My instincts and from the way it behaves seems to be DC but im really not too sure.

That would be AC at a very low voltage and a very high current.

If you don’t already have one, it’s probably time to invest in a multimeter. And safety glasses.

Also, transformers are ‘an AC thing.’ The primary reason we use alternating current is that we can use transformers to boost the voltage many times over for distribution. For a given amount of power, this means the current is proportionally reduced so smaller less expensive conductors (power lines) can be used for long distance distribution. Other transformers are again used to reverse the ratio as the electricity gets closer the the end user. This doesn’t work for direct current.