How Do Light Dimmers Work?
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Dimmer switches can turn down the brightness of a light to create a different type of atmosphere. The switch usually looks like a small dial that is turned or a lever that is raised and lowered. Popular places for these switches are bedrooms and dining rooms.
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Dimmer switches made in the past used a variable resistor. A normal resistor is something that lets very little electricity pass through it. The variable resistor is made up of something resistive, a moving contact and a non-moving contact. The resistive material is attached to the moving contact. When the moving contact is up close to the stationary one, the electricity does not have to force its way through much material. When it is moved away, the material is extended and the electricity has much more to transfer through. This extended travel dims the light because of a loss of energy that results in a loss of volts.
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More common dimmers today use a different method to dim the lights. They turn the power to the light on and off. This in turn lowers the amount of energy moving through the wires. Power running through wires in a home switches direction around 60 times per second. The more recent dimmer breaks up this current flow each time the direction is changed, or at the point when the volts reach zero right before direction is switched. This turns the power to the light off many times per second, and the resulting energy flow to the light is low. How fast the power switches back on after turning off depends on where the dial is turned to. If it is close to full power, the on-off of the current is fast. If the switch is set to low light, then the on-off is slower.
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