I was just reading the howstuffworks article on dimmer switches. I think I understood 95% of it but I still have a question. In the modern dimmer switches, the idea is basically when( Or how quickly) to turn the circuit back on after it was turned off. Like you see in the article, if the dimmer switch is set to very bright, the circuit will turn on almost instantaneously after turning off. If the opposite is true, then it will wait till later in the cycle of the AC current sine wave. Now, why will the light be bright if the circuit is turned on quickly? It doesn't have to do with the amount of voltage applied. The peak voltage is always the same and it doesn't change(110 or 220 volts). Is it just because of how much of the time the circuit is on during a cycle?
So, if the circuit is on 90% of the time, the light will be bright because there is enough time for it to reach the necessary heat.
And if the circuit is on only 5% of the time, the light will be dimmed because there isn't enough time for it to reach the necessary heat to be very bright?
Is this what they are trying to tell us?
Also, is this triac thing common in many other circuits?
Thanks.
So, if the circuit is on 90% of the time, the light will be bright because there is enough time for it to reach the necessary heat.
And if the circuit is on only 5% of the time, the light will be dimmed because there isn't enough time for it to reach the necessary heat to be very bright?
Is this what they are trying to tell us?
Also, is this triac thing common in many other circuits?
Thanks.