- #1
Alex Hughes
- 54
- 13
Ok so I've been reading a book on electronics and I got to a section that talks about full-wave bridge rectifiers. This is the diagram the author gives:
In this diagram he says the D2 and D4 diode are forward biased. But, doesn't the current flow through D2, goes through the resistor, and then flows through D3 meaning that D2 and D3 are the ones that are foward bias in the up cycle and D1 and D4 are forward bias in the down cycle? Is this a typo or am I just misinterpreting the diagram.
My next question was for when I actually built the bridge rectifier on a breadboard. I used a 9v AC power adapter and it works. I used my multimeter and got an accurate DC reading so I'm confident I hooked the circuit up correctly. I'm just confused on how it works. Here is the circuit:
The circuit uses 4 diodes. The two alligator clips you see are attached to the leads of my 9v AC power adapter. To me it seems that when the positive current goes through the red alligator clip, it can't go through the diode which has its cathode (silver stripe) connected to B15 since it's reverse bias, instead it can only travel through the diode next to it, the one with its anode at D15. However, once it travels through it I see no place for the current to go. The diode whose cathode is connected to E9 is reverse bias, and the diode next to it is on a different row (cathode connected to A10 not A9). How does this bridge rectifier work? Can somebody please explain it to me I'm very confused. Thanks.
In this diagram he says the D2 and D4 diode are forward biased. But, doesn't the current flow through D2, goes through the resistor, and then flows through D3 meaning that D2 and D3 are the ones that are foward bias in the up cycle and D1 and D4 are forward bias in the down cycle? Is this a typo or am I just misinterpreting the diagram.
My next question was for when I actually built the bridge rectifier on a breadboard. I used a 9v AC power adapter and it works. I used my multimeter and got an accurate DC reading so I'm confident I hooked the circuit up correctly. I'm just confused on how it works. Here is the circuit:
The circuit uses 4 diodes. The two alligator clips you see are attached to the leads of my 9v AC power adapter. To me it seems that when the positive current goes through the red alligator clip, it can't go through the diode which has its cathode (silver stripe) connected to B15 since it's reverse bias, instead it can only travel through the diode next to it, the one with its anode at D15. However, once it travels through it I see no place for the current to go. The diode whose cathode is connected to E9 is reverse bias, and the diode next to it is on a different row (cathode connected to A10 not A9). How does this bridge rectifier work? Can somebody please explain it to me I'm very confused. Thanks.
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