13.1: Theory Overview
- Page ID
- 26066
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The full-wave bridge, like the half-wave rectifier, is used to turn an AC signal into pulsating DC. The fullwave bridge requires four diodes instead of one but has the advantage of utilizing the opposite polarity of the signal, effectively flipping its polarity rather than simply “throwing it away” like the half-wave circuit. This increases the energy available to the load and lessens the burden on filtering capacitors as the resulting gap between pulses is much smaller.