Power Supplies

Power supply is a reference to a source of electrical power. A device or system that supplies electrical or other types of energy to an output load or group of loads is called a power supply unit or PSU. more...

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The term is most commonly applied to electrical energy supplies, less often to mechanical ones, and rarely to others.

Electrical power supplies

This term covers the mains power distribution system together with any other primary or secondary sources of energy such as:

Conversion of one form of electrical power to another desired form and voltage. This typically involves converting 120 or 240 volt AC supplied by a utility company (see electricity generation) to a well-regulated lower voltage DC for electronic devices. For examples, see switched-mode power supply, linear regulator, rectifier and inverter (electrical).; Batteries; Chemical fuel cells and other forms of energy storage systems; Solar power; Generators or alternators (particularly useful in vehicles of all shapes and sizes, where the engine has rotational power to spare, or in semi-portable units containing an internal combustion engine and a generator) (For large-scale power supplies, see electricity generation.) Low voltage, low power DC power supply units are commonly integrated with the devices they supply, such as computers and household electronics.;

Constraints that commonly affect power supplies are the amount of power they can supply, how long they can supply it for without needing some kind of refueling or recharging, how stable their output voltage or current is under varying load conditions, and whether they provide continuous power or pulses.

The regulation of power supplies is done by incorporating circuitry to tightly control the output voltage and/or current of the power supply to a specific value. The specific value is closely maintained despite variations in the load presented to the power supply's output, or any reasonable voltage variation at the power supply's input. This kind of regulation is commonly categorised as a Stabilized power supply.

Computer power supply

A computer power supply typically is designed to convert 110-240 V AC power from the mains, to several low-voltage DC power outputs for the internal components of the computer. The most common computer power supplies are built to conform to the ATX form factor. The power rating of a PC power supply is not officially certified and is self-claimed by each manufacturer. The more reputable makers advertise "True Wattage Rated" to give consumers the idea that they can trust the wattage advertised.

Domestic mains adapter

A linear or (rarely) switched-mode power supply (or in some cases just a transformer) that is built into the top of a plug is known as a "wall wart", "power brick", "plug-in adapter", "adapter block", "AC adapter" or just "power adapter". They are even more diverse than their names; often with either the same kind of DC plug offering different voltage or polarity, or a different plug offering the same voltage. "Universal" adapters attempt to replace missing or damaged ones, using multiple plugs and selectors for different voltages and polarities.

Read more at Wikipedia.org