Producing Alternating current of high Frequency.

AI Thread Summary
High-frequency alternating current (AC) can be produced using electronic components like crystals and oscillator circuits, which can generate frequencies up to several gigahertz. While traditional AC generators have limits on coil rotation velocity, advanced designs with multiple rotor poles can achieve higher frequencies. For applications like aircraft, frequencies around 400Hz are used to reduce weight in motors and transformers. Off-the-shelf radio transmitters can provide significant power at high frequencies without relying on rotating coils. Oscillatory circuits also serve as effective methods for generating high-frequency AC.
amk_dbz
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
As the title suggests, how are very high frequency AC produced?
A AC generator must have a limit to the rotation velocity of the coil, mustn't it?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
How high in frequency are you thinking about?
 
You can use electronics to generate everything up to several GHz, and electromagnetic waves (and corresponding transitions in atoms/metals for photons of specific energy) for higher frequencies.
 
Look into electronics, they have crystals, oscillator circuits that generate RF and then amplify the higher current.
 
amk_dbz said:
As the title suggests, how are very high frequency AC produced?
A AC generator must have a limit to the rotation velocity of the coil, mustn't it?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

The words "Radio Transmitter" come to mind as a possible answer for you. You can buy equipment off the shelf that will give you 250kW at 20MHz or 20kW at 500Mhz. But that's not done with rotating coils.
I'm not sure the highest frequency that has ever been generated with a rotating generator but I believe 400Hz is / was used for the AC supply in aircraft. One reason for using such a (comparatively) high frequency for this application is that motors and transformers can be made a lot lighter than if you use 56/60Hz. I wouldn't be surprised to be told of special rotary equipment having been made to generate tens of kHz or even more, though - before power radio valves were available.
You mention high rotation rates as a possible problem - True but it is possible to have many poles on a rotor, which can produce multiples of the basic rotational frequency. But there will be limits, imposed by the Inductance of this sort of generator (or distribution and load equipment), which would compromise performance.
 
Thank you all for your Help...In addition to information provided, I found another method to generate high frequency AC, which is to use oscillatory circuits.
Thank you
 
I was using the Smith chart to determine the input impedance of a transmission line that has a reflection from the load. One can do this if one knows the characteristic impedance Zo, the degree of mismatch of the load ZL and the length of the transmission line in wavelengths. However, my question is: Consider the input impedance of a wave which appears back at the source after reflection from the load and has traveled for some fraction of a wavelength. The impedance of this wave as it...
Back
Top