A capacitor connected across the output of a rectifier acts as
- A. an amplifier
- B. a smoothing element, charging at the peaks and discharging between them to reduce ripple
- C. a switch
- D. an oscillator
Explanation
The capacitor stores charge while the rectified voltage rises and releases it while the voltage falls, filling in the troughs so the output approaches a steady direct voltage. A larger capacitance or a larger load resistance gives less ripple, since the time constant is longer. Full wave rectification smooths better than half wave because the gaps to be filled are shorter.