DigiTan said:
How does it get the name "clamping diode?" I've always wondered about that one. I guess it has something to do with the diode "clamping down" on the back-EMF and creating a short(er) circuit for the surge?
The term "damping" comes from damped oscillations. If you stimulate a RLC circuit into oscillation, the amplitude decreases with time due to the energy lost as heat in the resistor.
There are mechanical equivalents. For example - suspend a spring from a beam with a weight attached at the other end. If you pull the weight down and let it go it oscillates up and down. But since energy is lost in the spring and due to air resistance, the system gradually looses energy so the amplitude of the oscillation gradually decreases. It is therefore damped.
Len