Reducing Power Dissipation in Back-to-Back Transformers

[PRR]

> I think diode + resistor.

Over a w-i-d-e range, the curve of a space-charge-limited diode will deviate significantly from a semiconductor diode.

As we may only need a decade of action, and the ear is not so precise, it may be moot to us.

[Rob Strand]

Over a w-i-d-e range, the curve of a space-charge-limited diode will deviate significantly from a semiconductor diode.

I suppose the advantage is it has a natural short circuit protection but I agree in the normal range the issue is probably moot.

I remember the old selenium rectifiers and copper oxide rectifiers.   They were much friendlier when you get short circuits and had a tendency to limit short term overloads.   I remember replacing a selenium rectifier with a silicon rectifier in car battery charger once.  People often short the battery charger terminals together to check it's working.   Need I say the smoke got out of the large silicon rectifier in a short space of time.   The next version used a resistor but best of all was to use a high wattage bulb so the resistance increases under shorts.  I noticed some commercial chargers used the light bulb as the selenium rectifiers and copper oxide rectifiers faded out.   Later on they used solid state circuits and fold-back current limiting.