AC or DC

[Electronman]

Hi,

The output of a half/full wave diode when the diode(s) is connected to an AC transformer and there is no capacitor is called AC or DC? It does not change to negative plot, so I am in doubt what to call it?

Besides I saw an animation of how to generate DC by just sutable using of comotators, the out was like the output of a full wave rectifier without a cap and they called it an DC generator?!

 

[grim]

unsmoothed DC

 

[Electronman]

But It seems to have periode.

 

[grim]

in that case it's female unsmoothed DC

unless it goes negative, it is not ALTERNATING, and therefor is not AC

the proper name is half wave rectified unsmoothed DC.

 

[BrownOut]

the proper name is half wave rectified unsmoothed DC.

Why half-wave?

 

[crutschow]

Why half-wave?

If you use a single diode, you rectify only half the waves (either all the positive halves or all the negative halves) hence the term half-wave rectifier. If you use four diodes in bridge configuration ( or two diodes with a center-tap transformer), then it rectifies both halves of the waveform and it's called a full-wave rectifier.

In general the rectified, unfiltered signal from a diode rectifier can be considered pulsing DC or DC with high ripple (it's typical of many battery chargers which have no filter), although it still does have a significant AC component and harmonics (as a spectrum analyzer will measure).

This rectification technique is used in RF circuits (particularly microwave)as a frequency doubler (since a full-wave rectified signal has a fundamental frequency twice the input frequency).

 

[HiTech]

"unsmoothed"? How about non-filtered instead?

 

[mbarazeen]

ripple DC or un-filtered would be better to call by. still you can call it as DC. it will make current in one direction only.