Re:Pump up the charge: Getting -5V from a 5V power supply
by mastax on Sunday October 10, 2021 @06:59PM
(#28822738)
> Is this a typo - should this say "to the side that had +5V before?" (ie change minus to plus)?
Yes.
> I'm struggling to understand the design, but I think it's charging a capacitor with +5V, changing the charging side to ground, discharging the capacitor through what used to be the input (you can tell I'm not an electrical engineer, I suspect these terms are very faulty) and causing a -5V flow that way.
That's correct enough. It's all a matter of perspective. I'd probably say you discharge it through what used to be ground, though as the article notes technically ground is the source of electrons - but we usually talk about holes and positive (conventional) current.
Imagine measuring the voltage on a AA battery: 1.5V. Then you flip it around and measure again: -1.5V. Voltage is all relative to where you measure, usually ground. It's a tricky concept.
Yes.
> I'm struggling to understand the design, but I think it's charging a capacitor with +5V, changing the charging side to ground, discharging the capacitor through what used to be the input (you can tell I'm not an electrical engineer, I suspect these terms are very faulty) and causing a -5V flow that way.
That's correct enough. It's all a matter of perspective. I'd probably say you discharge it through what used to be ground, though as the article notes technically ground is the source of electrons - but we usually talk about holes and positive (conventional) current.
Imagine measuring the voltage on a AA battery: 1.5V. Then you flip it around and measure again: -1.5V. Voltage is all relative to where you measure, usually ground. It's a tricky concept.