Sine Waves

Sinusoidal Waveform

A representation of one cycle of an alternating voltage or current.

Peak Value

The maximum value reached on either the positive or negative side of a sine wave.

Periodic Time (t)

The time required to complete one full cycle of a waveform.

RMS Value

Root Mean Square Value, calculated as Peak value x 0.707.

Average Value (Vavg)

Calculated as Peak value x 0.636; represents the average voltage over a cycle.

Frequency

The number of full cycles of a signal that occur in one second.

Peak to Peak Value

The total value between the positive peak and negative peak of a sine wave.

Coil Rotation

The movement of the coil in an electrical alternator that generates alternating voltage.

Output Voltage

The voltage produced by an alternator, rising from 0 V to its peak value then falling back to 0 V.

Equation for Frequency

Frequency = 1 ÷ Periodic Time; used to calculate the frequency of a signal.