🔍 Key Concepts

• Bleeder resistor purpose in DC power supplies • Behavior of a filter capacitor when power is suddenly switched off • Difference between voltage regulation and safety/discharge functions

💭 Think About

• Think about what happens to the large filter capacitor in a power supply if there were no bleeder resistor after you switch the power off. What risk or behavior might that cause? • Consider whether a permanently connected resistor across the output is an efficient way to improve load regulation, or if regulation is usually handled by other circuit elements. • Ask yourself: is the bleeder resistor mainly about stabilizing voltage under varying load, or about ensuring the supply is safe and fully discharged after shutdown?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify the primary safety function of a bleeder resistor in power supplies. • Check how output voltage regulation is normally achieved in regulated supplies (e.g., feedback circuits, voltage regulators) rather than by simple resistors across the output. • Confirm what a resistor permanently connected across a capacitor will do to the capacitor’s charge when input power is removed.