Algodoo

This simulation aims to show the use of a capacitor to smooth out an pulsating DC, which is commonly created when connecting a full bridge rectifier to an AC outlet.

The principale of a capacitor is to store electrical charge for later release. The amount of stored charge is equal to the Voltage (water tank height) times the Capacitance (water tank width).

Interactive parts of the scene:
The voltage at the capacitor is shown in the diagram which tracks the heigth of the small floating red ball in the capacitor. By clicking on the red bar (one wall of the capacitor/water tank) you increase its capacitance.
At the start you can see, that the capacitance is quite low. The capacitor is incapable of smoothing out the incoming pulsating current. Observe how an increase in capacitance (and resistance) changes A) the consistency of resulting current (water stream at the end) and B) the voltage at the capacitor.

Let me know if anything is unclear