Power Supplies

In the modern electronic world, there is a plethora of electronic devices and an equally large and different requirement for power. These variations can exist in voltage requirements or current requirements, or a combination of both. However, at least from a consumer standpoint, there is only a single power source available, the standard AC source wall outlet. This, in part, describes the need for the modern power supply modules. These are designed to provide a particular voltage and current output, which is usually different from the input power supplied to the device. It is both an output and input unit, providing some form of conversion or protection in between.
The ways in which power is supplied by the supplies are numerous. Most modern supplies are switching, which means that they utilize power transistors to modify the signal internally while keeping power loss low. Some supplies convert an AC power signal into a DC; these are common with laptops, and computer equipment in general. Others can convert the other way, from DC to AC. These are becoming more popular with the prevalence of solar energy devices. Simpler designs provide and AC-to-AC conversion, which usually use a transformer step up or step down for a voltage change but phased signals.