• qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website
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    22 days ago

    High frequency is generally bad for transmission line losses, so getting power from A to B is better at lower frequency — DC is a great option here.

    If we switched to DC, many things would still flicker though as they would presumably use switching power supplies, but those could be relatively high frequency like you said.

    Interestingly, airplanes use 400Hz, as transmission over distance doesn’t matter, and transformers can be made much smaller/lighter.

    • FishFace@piefed.social
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      21 days ago

      Also if we switched to DC, you’d need costly dcdc transformers to step up the voltage for transmission and back down again for domestic usage

        • FishFace@piefed.social
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          21 days ago

          As far as I understand, a DCDC converter is less efficient and more expensive than an equivalent ACAC converter. I don’t know about switching power supplies, and whether that’s true or extendable to the transformer case, sorry.

          Long distance point to point power transmission (like internationally) is often DC because transmission losses become more important.