CHAPTER 16
DIMMERS
HOW A DIMMER WORKS 
A dimmer is an electronic device that controls the amount of power used by a load. It turns off parts of the main waveform to reduce the amount of time the lamp receives main voltage. Switching on a variable portion of the main waveform controls the amount of power sent to a lamp. This is known as phase control. The devices that switch the main waveform are collectively known as thyristors. These are divided into two groups: triacs and silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs).
The thyristor is like a switch controlled by a trigger pulse. To provide control for SCR triggering, a voltage that falls at a set rate ...
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