Industrial electronics
This or that
Rectifier, Inverter, Chopper: Know Which?
Do you know the difference, or do you just guess in exams?
Quick check · tap an answer to continue
Lesson notes
Key points
- Rectifier / Inverter: A rectifier converts AC to DC; an inverter converts DC back to AC.
- Chopper / Cycloconverter: A chopper changes DC to DC; a cycloconverter changes AC frequency directly.
- Half-wave / Full-wave: Half-wave uses one half-cycle; full-wave uses both, giving smoother DC.
- Line / Forced commutation: Line commutation uses the AC supply reversing; forced uses an external circuit.
Takeaway: Name converters by input and output: AC or DC.
Quick check: Which converter would change a 12 V DC supply into 5 V DC?
- Inverter
- Chopper
- Cycloconverter
A chopper is a DC-to-DC converter.
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