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Bridge Rectifier
Bridge Rectifier
Bridge Rectifier
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Rectifiers
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Index
Rectifiers
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HyperPhysics*****Electricity and magnetism*****Electronics R Nave
Index
Rectifiers
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HyperPhysics*****Electricity and magnetism*****Electronics R Nave
Current Flow in the Bridge Rectifier
For both positive and
negative swings of the
transformer, there is a
forward path through
the diode bridge. Both
conduction paths cause
current to flow in the Index
same direction through
the load resistor, Rectifiers
accomplishing full-
wave rectification. Reference
Floyd,
Electronic
While one set of diodes Devices
is forward biased, the
other set is reverse
biased and effectively
eliminated from the
circuit.
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HyperPhysics*****Electricity and magnetism*****Electronics R Nave
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Diode bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A diode bridge is an arrangement of four (or more) diodes in a bridge configuration that
provides the same polarity of output for either polarity of input. When used in its most common
application, for conversion of an alternating current (AC) input into direct current a (DC) output,
it is known as a bridge rectifier. A bridge rectifier provides full-wave rectification from a two-
wire AC input, resulting in lower cost and weight as compared to a rectifier with a 3-wire input
from a transformer with a center-tapped secondary winding.[1]
The essential feature of a diode bridge is that the polarity of the output is the same regardless of
the polarity at the input. The diode bridge circuit is also known as the Graetz circuit after its
inventor, physicist Leo Graetz.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Basic operation
• 2 Output smoothing
• 3 Polyphase diode
bridges
• 4 See also
• 5 External links
• 6 References
[edit] Basic operation
According to the conventional model of current flow originally established by Benjamin Franklin
and still followed by most engineers today, current is assumed to flow through electrical
conductors from the positive to the negative pole.[2] In actuality, free electrons in a conductor
nearly always flow from the negative to the positive pole. In the vast majority of applications,
however, the actual direction of current flow is irrelevant. Therefore, in the discussion below the
conventional model is retained.
In the diagrams below, when the input connected to the left corner of the diamond is positive,
and the input connected to the right corner is negative, current flows from the upper supply
terminal to the right along the red (positive) path to the output, and returns to the lower supply
terminal via the blue (negative) path.
When the input connected to the left corner is negative, and the input connected to the right
corner is positive, current flows from the lower supply terminal to the right along the red
(positive) path to the output, and returns to the upper supply terminal via the blue (negative)
path.[3]
AC, half-wave and full wave rectified signals.[4]
In each case, the upper right output remains positive and lower right output negative. Since this
is true whether the input is AC or DC, this circuit not only produces a DC output from an AC
input, it can also provide what is sometimes called "reverse polarity protection". That is, it
permits normal functioning of DC-powered equipment when batteries have been installed
backwards, or when the leads (wires) from a DC power source have been reversed, and protects
the equipment from potential damage caused by reverse polarity.
Prior to the availability of integrated circuits, a bridge rectifier was constructed from "discrete
components", i.e., separate diodes. Since about 1950, a single four-terminal component
containing the four diodes connected in a bridge configuration became a standard commercial
component and is now available with various voltage and current ratings.
[edit] References
1. ^ a b Horowitz, Paul and Winfield Hill, The Art of Electronics, Second Ed.,
Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 44-47, ISBN 0521370957.
2. ^ Stutz, Michael (stutz@dsl.org), "Conventional versus electron flow", All
About Circuits, Vol. 1, Chapter 1, 2000.
3. ^ Sears, Francis W., Mark W. Zemansky and Hugh D. Young, University
Physics, Sixth Ed., Addison-Wesely Publishing Co., Inc., 1982, p. 685.
4. ^ a b "Rectifier", Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, Third
Edition, Sybil P. Parker, ed. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994, p. 1589.
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w w w .tpub.com The Bridge Rectifier
When four diodes are
connected as shown in figure
4-8, the circuit is called a
BRIDGE RECTIFIER. The input
to the circuit is applied to
the diagonally opposite
corners of the network, and
the output is taken from the
www.tpub.com remaining two corners.
ISO-8859-1 ISO-8859-1 Figure 4-8. - Bridge
rectifier.
en
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rectifier?
Q.12 What main advantage does
a bridge rectifier have over
a conventional full-wave
rectifier?
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