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RE: Journal – Thoughts on Supernova
Hi @lightsplasher,
Actually, those lights flash 60 times per second (assuming a US-style power grid; in the UK, they go 50 times per second). The power grid has a very accurate 60 HZ sinusoidal waveform - the LEDs, which are Diodes, only conduct and light half of the time; nevertheless, both the positive and the negative lobes of the sine wave occur 60 times each second. ;)
I was wondering about that - thanks for the information and the nice animation! I guess I was thinking a diode only lights when the current is going one direction and was confused over the meaning of a cycle.
I suppose there could be a pair of diodes lighting on both sides of the waveform made into one unit. Then maybe the flashing would be 120 times a second from what your saying - with the light only going off when the wave briefly crosses from plus to minus. The new LED bulb replacements don't seem to flicker at all - they are more expensive though.
You are correct... if you have two LEDs hooked up in parallel but opposite directions, that's what you'd get. 😄
I haven't studied the details - it is a very fast moving field! - but I suspect that the newer, pricier LEDs may include filters that buffer and sustain output even during the line zero-crossing...