Alternating current (ac) or direct current (dc) circuits are capable of carrying very different currents, as illustrated by the ratings on the switch in Figure 1. This is why it’s so important for ...

Churning with voltage and resembling an explosion at the wire factory, the breaker panel exudes mystique. But it's just a big switch, filled with other smaller ­switches, which lead to the switches ...

Here is a simple 12 volts DC to AC inverter circuit. This 120V AC power source is built with a simple 120V:24V or 110V:24V center-tapped control transformer and four additional component. This circuit ...

This Idea For Design shows how a gyrator circuit can be used to perform certain ac tests on units under test that require a dc-current feed. Designers have long used the gyrator circuit to create a ...

The battery as we know it today was an invention of Italian chemist and physicist Alessandro Volta. He witnessed electricity splitting water into its constituent elements of oxygen and hydrogen and ...

Editor's Note: Here's another take on the transformerless AC line power supply, which finds use in some well-insulated, low-power devices. Our technical reviewer pointed out that C ac should be an ...