Transformer Rectifier Unit

The electric power that comes into our homes is in the form
of AC voltage, which means that the voltage and current are
constantly changing direction.
Most of our electronics, however, require DC voltage to
operate, meaning that that the device requires a voltage and
current that are always only in one direction.
Therefore, we need a way to convert AC voltage into DC
voltage.
We can do this by using a device called a diode.
A diode allows current to flow in the forward direction, but
blocks current trying to flow in the backward direction.
When current flows in the forward direction both sides of the
diode are at about the same voltage.
On the other hand, when the diode blocks current from flowing
in the backward direction the different sides of the diode
can be at significantly different voltages.
Therefore, by adding just a single diode to the circuit, we
have now ensure that the voltage and current across our
device will always be only in one direction.
However, with this setup, the voltage and current across our
device is zero half the the time, and this is undesirable.
We can fix this problem by using a slightly more clever
circuit which uses four diodes instead of just one.
Now the voltage and current across our device are always in
only one direction, and they are no longer zero for half the
time.
We can even further improve this circuit by adding a
capacitor.
Capacitors have the ability to store charged particles.
When the capacitor is placed in this circuit, the capacitor
stores and releases the charged particles so as to try to
keep the voltage across the device constant.
We have now built an AC to DC converter, which we refer to as
a rectifier.