and interpretation is not as unusual as you might think: it’s commonly encountered in problems of
DC network analysis where “+” and “-” polarity marks are initially drawn according to educated
guess, and later interpreted as correct or “backward” according to the mathematical sign of the
figure calculated.
In AC circuits, though, we don’t deal with “negative” quantities of voltage. Instead, we describe
to what degree one voltage aids or opposes another by phase: the time-shift between two waveforms.
We never describe an AC voltage as being negative in sign, because the facility of polar notation
allows for vectors pointing in an opposite direction. If one AC voltage directly opposes another AC
voltage, we simply say that one is 180o out of phase with the other.
Still, voltage is relative between two points, and we have a choice in how we might connect a
voltage-measuring instrument between those two points. The mathematical sign of a DC voltmeter’s
reading has meaning only in the context of its test lead connections: which terminal the red lead is
touching, and which terminal the black lead is touching. Likewise, the phase angle of an AC voltage
has meaning only in the context of knowing which of the two points is considered the “reference”
point. Because of this fact, “+” and “-” polarity marks are often placed by the terminals of an AC
voltage in schematic diagrams to give the stated phase angle a frame of reference.
Let’s review these principles with some graphical aids. First, the principle of relating test lead
connections to the mathematical sign of a DC voltmeter indication: (Figure 2.27)