Editing Diode bridge (section)

== Current flow==
According to the [[conventional current|conventional model]] of [[Current (electricity)|current]] flow, originally established by [[Benjamin Franklin]] and still followed by most engineers today,<ref>Stutz, Michael (stutz@dsl.org), [http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_1/7.html "Conventional versus electron flow"], ''All About Circuits'', Vol. 1, Chapter 1, 2000.</ref> current flows through [[electrical conductor]]s from the positive to the negative pole (defined as positive flow). In actuality, [[free electron model|free electrons]] in a conductor nearly always flow from the negative to the positive pole. In the vast majority of applications, however, the actual direction of current flow is irrelevant. Therefore, in the discussion below the conventional model is retained.

The fundamental characteristic of a diode is that current can flow only one way through it, which is defined as the forward direction.  A diode bridge uses diodes as series components to allow current to pass in the forward direction during the positive part of the AC cycle and as shunt components to redirect current flowing in the reverse direction during the negative part of the AC cycle to the opposite rails.