Francis Jason P.

Agres
EE 130
An inverter is a device used to convert low voltage from a DC source to
high voltage AC. Basically its function is the opposite of a rectifier but their
components are not the same. Many of the devices we use require more
power to function properly and better than when connected to DC. Most of
our home appliances are connected to our home outlets which supply high
voltage AC. Alternating current or AC, constantly changes polarity, sending
current one way through the circuit, then reversing and sending it the other
way. It does this very quickly (60 times per second) in the frequency of 60
hertz.
Modern inverters use oscillator circuits. They're made with transistors
or semiconductors, so that there's no need for a spring arm flipping back and
forth to alternate the current unlike the early models of inverters. A
transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic
signals. It amplifies current; it amplifies voltage; and can serve as a switch.
An AC forms sine wave while the output of an inverter is a square wave.
Cleaning up the sine wave requires a series of filters, inductors and
capacitors. If you need a smoother sine wave, you'll need an inverter with
better filtering.
The maximum allowed output power of an inverter depends on two
factors; the maximum current rating of the transformer primary and the
current rating of the driving transistors. A transformer allows an alternating
current (AC) voltage to be
"stepped up" by making number
of turns of secondary winding
greater than of the primary, or
"stepped down" by making the
secondary less than that of the
primary. In the case of inverter it
is stepped up.
 Here is a circuit diagram of a basic inverter. It is composed of diodes,
capacitors, transistors, resistors, wires, and a transformer.
Our source here is a car battery 12 volts and an output of 220 volts ac.
The wattage depends on which transistors used for Q1 and Q2, as well
as how "big" a transformer you use for T1.
The circuit current depends on the values of the transistor or the
transformer we use on the circuit.
If we want a larger voltage output we put larger transformer to T1.
If we want to change the frequency, we just change the value of the
capacitor.
The two transistors are used to generate pulses.
Diodes are connected reversely to the transformer to avoid the back
emf to damage the transistor like a relay.
The circuit has problems and needs some modifications. The
connection between the center tap and the rest of the circuit should be
opened and the CT connected only to the 12 volt and lead.
The inverter was used in the movie 3 idiots when Mona (Pia’s sister) is
having her delivery. A very strong rain struck and Mona can’t be delivered to
the nearest hospital because of the flood. Pia who is a doctor asked Rancho
to make the child’s delivery possible. Basically, they were not in a hospital so
they lack equipment but Rancho managed to use the available materials for
substitute to what they were lacking of. Moreover, the situation got worse
when the supply of power in the area was gone. Rancho asked Farhan to get
the vacuum cleaner, millimeter to get the inverter, and Raju to wake up the
people in the boarding house and get car batteries, wires, and vacuum
gauge. Rancho made the car batteries as the power source. He knew that car
batteries produce direct current and one car battery usually produce 12
volts. I remember seeing only 8 car batteries have been brought to the room.
Connecting these in series would not give them enough voltage and is not
practical. The computer or a vacuum cleaner usually requires higher voltage
that is way greater than the combined 8 car batteries. They must use an
inverter to convert low voltage to higher voltage. Most of our home
appliances as I mentioned earlier are plugged in our home outlets and these
outlets supply high voltages. These appliances require high voltage to
perform properly. Rancho made the voltage produced from DC supply
(batteries) into a high voltage AC using the inverter he made and what he
called VIRUS.
3 Idiots is a great movie. It is a story of three engineering students
studying at the Imperial College of Engineering. These three have different
personalities and came from different families with different status in life.
Rancho who is the main character in the film was a courageous man, a man
who knows what he wants in life, and a very intelligent man.
One thing that makes me remember the movie is whenever I see Sir
Escobar. He looks like Rancho, Farhan looks like Mr. Tapia, and Raju looks
like one of my friends.
One part from the movie I like so much is when they were doing the
dance part. It was very funny because their steps were unusual really funny.
The movie also shows how college can bring so much pressure on
students. In the movie, Joy Lobo was not permitted to have extensions for his
Project. He would not graduate on time. He was that close. But he quit. He
quit that easy and he even committed suicide. It was sad he would not able
to graduate on time but what is sadder is the way how he managed the
situation. I am delayed. I will never be graduating on time. But I will never
attempt to end my life for that reason.
Rancho has a very strong personality. One thing I like about him is that
he knows what he wants. And he does he wants. He advised his friends to do
what they really want for their life not what others want them to do because
only in that way can they become happy.
Rancho is a very intelligent man. He shows us how a good engineer
thinks. He is good in exams. He is good in applying what he learned to
different situations. And most of all he makes other people’s life better.
 For the technical parts, I love the songs in the movie. The actors were
good. The storyline is good. It is very inspiring.
The movie shows us that life is full of problems, full of people that
make us weak who take away our pride and strength and eventually making
us fall. But it also shows us how to face them and have the courage to fight
them. We are not in the perfect world. We don’t live on planet without any
problem. But what this world offers us is a place to rejoice whenever we
solved a problem and make us a better person and I think that’s what makes
the world a good place to live in and I think that makes our world perfect.
The film has many quotes that I like. One is “all is well”. But one quote
that I will never forget is the one from Chatur “A for apple, B for bal”.
Rancho, Fahran, and Raju were the smartest Idiots I have ever seen.