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The Department of Energy launched a poll:  Who is the greater inventor, Edison or Tesla? cettechnology.com Before getting to the poll results of Nikola Tesla vs. Thomas Edison, AC vs. DC, it is interesting to learn a little more about the inventors as individuals. About Thomas Edison We credit U.S-born Thomas Alva Edison with inventing…

Michael Faraday (1791-1867) was an English scientist whose many experiments contributed greatly to the understanding of electromagnetism, making him one of the most influential minds of the 19th century. Notably, Faraday began his career as a chemist. He wrote a manual of practical chemistry that reveals his mastery of the technical aspects of his art,…

COMMON MODE CHOKE / INDUCTOR DESIGN  The common mode choke is one of the many types of inductors. Common mode choke is usually used in a power supply to filter out noise from the incoming line voltage. Impedance is the most important aspect of a common mode choke. Impedance of an inductor is usually specified…

High Impedance Step Up Transformer Power Input – 48VAC Power Output – 107 VAC @ 280uA (30mVA)   The customer for this component had a guitar application where due to a lack of Earth grounding he was seeing a “phantom” voltage being induced elsewhere in his product.  Instead of ignoring this voltage he decided he…

New vending machine power supply design details: External type power supply Input – 110VAC – 240 VAC. Output – 24 VAC @ 3A – 4A (72W-96W). Input Connection – IEC C13 Male. Output Connection – Wire (Not terminated) (Optional) Notes: The power supply must have an A/C input line filter and voltage output regulation.  …

What is a planar transformer? Planar Transformer Illustration A planar transformer is essentially a transformer that uses flat windings, usually on a printed circuit board, instead of copper wire to form the coils.  The PCB construction creates a different form factor that offers some unique advantages and a few tradeoffs.  What are the advantages of…

Science Quotes cettechnology.com   Here is a collection of interesting and sometimes funny quotes from scientists and engineers such as Einstein, Edison, Tesla and others.  To pause the slide show, hover your mouse over the image.  You can also navigate back  or ahead by clicking the arrows on the left or right of the image. …

Understanding Safety Standards for Standard and Custom Transformers & Magnetics There is often confusion about safety standards and approvals such as UL5085 applied to components and equipment. Engineers often know they need parts that are UL approved but what that actually means is often not understood. Products that meet UL requirements can be either “listed”…

What is Power Factor Correction, Explained Power Factor is defined as the ratio of real (true) power flowing through the load to the total (apparent) power in a circuit. Real power is the work performing capacity of the circuit at a particular time and apparent power is nothing but the product of voltage and current….

CET Technology designed a unique toroidal transformer to meet client’s pinout specification.  Typical toroidal transformers might have a total of four connections, two for the input and two for the output.  The customer had a need for a total of 18 connections at precise locations for mounting on to the printed circuit board.  As shown…