hey guys. i was wandering. what if instead of AC in a rectifier, i input DC??
i have tried with one rectifier i got from an old PSU, and it seems to just give DC output.
the reason i am asking this is : i have a line that is supposed to have only DC on it. but it very well has some AC as well (ripple, from car alternator). if i use a rectifier, will it convert the AC of the line , to DC as well??
also, how many amperes could this hold??
If you use a HUGE capacitor following the rectifier then it can let the rectifier peak detect the peaks of the ripple and produce fairly smooth DC.
A voltage regulator will completely eliminate the ripple but the DC will be a little lower than without it.
Another practical use of a rectifier (full wave) on DC to polarity protection. That can be useful in battery operated devices in which someone may insert the batteries incorrectly.
This will depend on diodes' maximum capacity for current.
I guessed we don't have to worry about '+' and '-' polarity of battery if we use Bridge rectifiers. We can connect '+-' or '-+' anything to bridge rec. but I think only two diodes which are conducting might get hot, isn't it?