Power Adapters in Lithium Battery

Although technology has been a part of our lives for a long while now, there are still some things about modern technology that are just not that easy to understand. There are so many different devices with different plugs, chargers, and adapters a common junk drawer can turn into the place to house all of our extra cords we don’t know where to put, right?

Many of these cords and other things have been used in our daily lives for a while now, but are we actually familiar with their names and what they actually do?  “Power adapter” can be one of those names that so many people call so many other things than “power adapter” that it might start to get confusing as to what it actually is.

What is the Difference between Charger and Adapter?

Before introducing the difference between a charger and a power adapter, let’s first understand what a charger is and what a power adapter is.

WHAT IS CHARGER?

Charger usually refers to a device that converts alternating current into low-voltage direct current. It includes a control circuit that meets the charging characteristics such as current limiting and voltage limiting. Chargers are widely used in various fields, especially in the field of life, they are widely used in mobile phones, cameras and other products.

WHAT IS POWER ADAPTER?

The common power adapter on the market is a power converter for voltage conversion, rectification and voltage regulation. The output is DC, which can be understood as a low-voltage regulated power supply when the power is satisfied. It is widely used in telephone mother-to-child machines, game consoles, language repeaters, walk-men, notebooks, cellular phones and other equipment.

The charger contains the functions of an adapter, but there are also control circuits inside the charger that meet the charging characteristics such as constant current and constant voltage. The charging control circuit of the adapter is generally placed on the host to complete. For example, a PHS charger and a laptop charger are actually just a power adapter. It does not include a charging control circuit inside. The charging control is done inside PHS and the computer.

The biggest difference between a charger and an adapter is that the charger only charges the battery, while the adapter can not only charge the battery, but also power the host.

In computers, adapters are usually built into cards that can be inserted into slots on the motherboard (there are also external ones), and the adaptation information in the card is exchanged with the devices supported by the processor and adapter. A power adapter is a power supply conversion device for small portable electronic equipment and electronic appliances. It generally consists of a shell, a power transformer and a rectifier circuit.

According to its output type, it can be divided into AC output type and DC output type; according to the connection method, it can be divided into wall-mounted and desktop type. Since mobile PCs do not have batteries, power adapters are particularly important for them. Most mobile PC power adapters can automatically detect 100～240V alternating current (50/60Hz).

Basically all mobile PCs have an external power supply and are connected to the host with a cable, which can reduce the size and weight of the host. Only a very small number of models have the power supply built into the host. There is a nameplate on the power adapter, which indicates indicators such as power, input and output voltage, and current. Special attention should be paid to the range of input voltage. This is the so-called “travel power adapter”.

What is DC?

What is a DC system?Direct Current is referred to as DC for short, which refers to a current that does not change periodically in direction and time, but the size of the current may not be fixed, resulting in a waveform, also known as a constant current. The circuit through which it passes is called a DC circuit, which is a closed conductive circuit composed of a DC power supply and a resistor. Such as: dry batteries, lead-acid batteries.

 The DC system provides reliable DC power supply for control, signal, protection, automatic devices, and accident lighting in substations. It also provides a reliable operating power supply for operation. The reliability of the DC system plays a vital role in the safe operation of the substation and is the guarantee of the safe operation of the substation.

Advantages of DC direct current:
There is no stability problem in the DC grid. Direct current is used for DC loads, and it can be used without rectifier and filtering equipment, which saves energy and reduces consumption compared to alternating current.

Disadvantages of DC direct current:
DC voltage boost is difficult, and the use of transformers to boost voltage is not feasible. Only special electronic circuits can be used to achieve voltage boost. If the power generation capacity is the same, the DC power generation equipment is more complicated than the AC power generation equipment. So far, there is no large-scale special case of power grid, and the technical standards and technical systems are not complete.

What is AC?

The current whose intensity and direction change periodically over time is called alternating current, or alternating current for short. The direction and size of the current will change over time. The generator of a power plant uses power to make the coil in the generator run. The direction of the output current of the generator will change once every 180° revolution, so the size of the current will also change regularly over time. This kind of power supply is called “AC power supply”.

Advantages of AC alternating current
1. As long as the AC power supply uses a transformer, the voltage (boost, buck) can be easily converted.
2. When transmitting power, it can maintain high voltage/low current and reduce the phenomenon of voltage drop (I2R loss).
3. It can easily convert AC power supply into DC power supply, and it is easy to supply power to DC drive equipment.

However, there are stability problems in the AC power system. If it is an AC power supply, the load is DC, and it must be rectified and filtered several times before it can be used.

What’s Another Name for a Power Adapter?

Power adapters can sometimes be called chargers, AC power adapters, or AC adapters. All of these names are correct, except for charger. A charger serves a different function than a power adapter does. We will discuss this further down the line in this post.

If you were to see any of these names on the internet or on sales materials for products you are considering, there is a 90% chance that the materials are referring to power adapters.

What is the Purpose of a Power Adapter?

The power adapter serves the purpose of converting AC voltage to a single DC voltage for your computer. It operates as an external battery for your computer so that the computer’s size does not need to be so large.

A computer uses many different DC voltages. One is provided by the power adapter and the other is provided by internal circuits in the computer itself. These combined give the computer what it needs. The power adapter serves as the battery that is providing specific energy and volts to a specific computer it is plugged into.

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