Dismiss Notice
Join Physics Forums Today!
The friendliest, high quality science and math community on the planet! Everyone who loves science is here!

DC from AC

  1. Aug 4, 2005 #1

    LENIN

    User Avatar

    How do we get a DC from AC. More excately how is this done in comercial adapters (I think they are cold this)?
     
    LENIN, Aug 4, 2005
  2. jcsd
    Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories on Phys.org
  3. Aug 4, 2005 #2

    brewnog

    User Avatar
    Science Advisor
    Gold Member

    The chaps in the Electrical Engineering will know more about this than me, but a bridge rectifier is used. As you know, AC usually takes the form of a sine wave. The bridge rectifier uses the directional property of diodes to convert the troughs of the sine waves to peaks, so that the current is now only moving in one direction. A capacitor is then often used to 'smooth' the resulting waveform.

    A mechanical analogy might be a network of check valves to make water always flow in a single direction, with a bucket (capacitor!) used to reduce the 'pulses' in flow.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2005
    brewnog, Aug 4, 2005
  4. Aug 4, 2005 #3

    LENIN

    User Avatar

    Thanks

    Thanks brewnog the link is really helpful. I did think there has to be something with diods somwhere in ther but I never thought there are 2 peres of them. The othere plans on the link are also interesting. Thanks agein!! :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:
     
    LENIN, Aug 4, 2005
Share this great discussion with others via Reddit, Google+, Twitter, or Facebook