A diode only passes current one way. A single diode gives half-wave rectification; a bridge of four diodes flips the negative halves up to give full-wave rectification. A smoothing capacitor across the load then fills in the dips, leaving a small ripple.
MissionSwitch on the smoothing capacitor and predict what it does to the output.Streak 0Best 0
Adding a smoothing capacitor across the load:
rectifierhalf-wave
diodes used1
smoothing capacitoroff
time constant RC—
ripple (peak-to-peak)—
A single diode passes only the positive half-cycles. The output is a varying d.c.