Final answer:
DC power distribution by utilities is used in applications such as grid interconnections, undersea cable transmissions, data centers, and telecommunications. Examples of usage include AC power in industrial motors and DC power in solar panels. Adapters are used to convert AC to DC for charging electronic devices, and transformers do not work with DC voltage.
Step-by-step explanation:
DC power distribution by utilities is relatively rare when compared to AC power distribution, mainly because AC power is more efficient for long-distance transmission. However, there are specific applications where DC power is still provided by utility companies, including:
To give an example of the use of AC power outside the household, a good one would be industrial motors used in manufacturing, which often run on high-voltage AC to take advantage of its efficient long-distance transmission and ease of transforming voltages. As for DC power, a notable example beyond batteries is the use of solar panels, which inherently produce DC power and often use inverters to convert it to AC for household use or feeding into the electrical grid.
Concerning the purpose of an adapter in the charging of electronic devices, the adapter serves to convert high-voltage AC from the wall socket into low-voltage DC suitable for charging the device's battery. A transformer cannot work with DC voltage because transformers rely on the fluctuating magnetic field created by alternating current (AC) to function.