Editing Diode bridge (section)

== Smoothing circuits ==
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2017}}
{{See also|Rectifier#Rectifier output smoothing}}
With AC input, the output of a diode bridge (called a [[full-wave rectifier]] for this purpose; there is also [[half-wave rectification]], which does not use a diode bridge) is polarized pulsating [[non-sinusoidal waveform|non-sinusoidal]] voltage of the same amplitude but twice the frequency of the input.  It may be considered as DC voltage upon which is superimposed a very large [[ripple voltage]]. This kind of electric power is not very usable, because ripple is dissipated as [[waste heat]] in DC circuit components and may cause noise or distortion during circuit operation.  So nearly all rectifiers are followed by a series of [[bandpass]] or [[bandstop filter]]s and/or a [[voltage regulator]] to convert most or all of the ripple voltage into a smoother and possibly higher DC output. A filter may be as simple as a single sufficiently large [[capacitor]] or [[choke (electronics)|choke]], but most power-supply filters have multiple alternating series and shunt components.  When the ripple voltage rises, [[reactive power]] is stored in the filter components, reducing the voltage; when the ripple voltage falls, reactive power is discharged from the filter components, raising the voltage.  The final stage of rectification may consist of a [[zener diode]]-based voltage regulator, which almost completely eliminates any residual ripple.