I'm building a little circuit and need help with Diodes.

[zemanekj]

My question is this -

Can a diode still work if it has electricity coming in from both ends? For example if I have a diode, and connect a DC generators output to one end of the diode, and do the same for the other end as well what will happen?

 

[dknguyen]

If the generator with the higher voltage is on the anode, it will push current through the diode into the generator with lower voltage that is on the cathode if the difference in voltages is larger than the diode's forward voltage drop. If the generator with the higher voltage is on the cathode, then no current will flow unless the difference in voltage between the generators is so high that it blows through the diode's reverse blocking capability.

It's really no different from how it normally works. Nothing special. It's all about the voltage difference across the diode and which polarity it is.

 

[zemanekj]

Thank you, I know you will probably be repeating yourself here however - what if the generator producing less voltage is connected to the Anode and the generator producing higher voltage connected to the cathode?

 

[dknguyen]

Then no current flow unless the voltage difference is so high it blows through the diode and destroys it (semiconductors usually fail short)