ac current swing

The difference between Imax and Imin over a given period of time.

Hope This Helps! Rich

Hi, MR. I believe it refers to the variation in instantaneous current from highest to lowest value.

Let's say you've got a 60 watt bulb powered by 120VAC. The current could be measured with a meter as 0.5A AC. But during the course of the line cycle, the peak current going in both directions would be about 0.7A. That would mean the "current swing" would be from +0.7A to

-0.7A, or 1.4 Amps. If you had a current transformer and an oscilloscope, you would see that the difference between the highest part of the trace and the lowest was 1.4A.

If this doesn't sound right, could you give some context -- i.e. where you found that phrase, and what they were talking about?

Cheers Chris