Editing 2642: Meta-Alternating Current

{{comic
| number    = 2642
| date      = July 6, 2022
| title     = Meta-Alternating Current
| image     = meta_alternating_current.png
| titletext = It's always bothered me that you can't cancel out an inverter by putting a second inverter after it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHAIN OF INVERTERS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Direct current}} is a unidirectional flow of electrons from a power source to something being powered, through one or more conductors, before returning to the power source via one or more other conductors, thus completing the circuit. Batteries produce direct current.  It is commonly used in electronics applications, including computers. {{w|Alternating current}}, on the other hand, frequently reverses the direction of electron flow, and is commonly used for longer-distance transmission (such as from the power plant to an outlet).

This comic proposes a humorous ''Meta-Alternating Current'', which uses a series of adapters to "alternate" between DC and AC current along the length of a connector. This is absurd in part because typical {{w|power inverter}} efficiency is 90%, and maximum {{w|bridge rectifier}} efficiency is about 99% for 120 V, so an {{w|extension cord}} made of in this manner would lose about 10% power per such pair. 

The title text bemoans that an inverter, which converts direct current to alternating current, does not work in the other direction, as a layman's interpretation of the word "inverter" might assume. Rather, a separate device, a {{w|rectifier}}, also pictured in the comic, must be used for this second conversion. (However, a similar circuit to an inverter may be used to rectify in a process called {{w|active rectification}}.)

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:Cursed Connectors #120

:[Drawing of a chain of rectifiers and inverters. There are seven pairs of rectifiers/inverters. The chain starts on the left with a mains plug (type B), followed by the first rectifier. It ends with the last inverter, and a female mains plug (type B socket).]

:Meta-alternating current extension cord
:(alternates between AC and DC)

==Trivia==
This comic replaced [[No One Was Hurt]] as comic 2642 after it was taken down from [[xkcd]]'s website.

This comic does not have a high-resolution (2x) image for high-DPI displays, making it look more blurry than usual on such devices (such as smartphones). This is probably because it was uploaded hastily to replace No One Was Hurt quickly.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Cursed Connectors]]