the.com/alternating
the rhythm of reality refusing to commit, flipping its mind sixty times a second
means Switching back and forth between two or more states, options, or values in a regular, repeating pattern.
from From the Latin 'alternare,' meaning 'to do by turns,' built on 'alternus' ('one after another') and ultimately 'alter' ('the other of two'). So baked into the word is the idea of two sides taking turns — the same 'alter' that gives us 'alter ego' and 'alternative.' English picked it up by the 16th century, and centuries later it found its most famous home in 'alternating current,' where electricity reverses direction many times a second.
- power grid
- AC reverses direction 50 or 60 times per second
- war of currents
- Tesla's AC crushed Edison's DC over distance
- biology
- plant leaves alternate to dodge each other's shadow
- math
- alternating series can converge by simply flip-flopping signs
- why ac wins
- voltage steps up easily, so wires waste less
alternating current — electrical system delivering 60 hz in north america, 50 hz in europe, invented by nikola tesla
alternating series — mathematical convergent series like 1 - 1/2 + 1/3 - 1/4, used in calculus
alternating pattern in nature — phyllotaxis: leaves on stems arranged alternately, seen in mint plants and most dicots