Eli5: What is a thyristor and how does it work?
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A thyristor is a piece of electronics that works in a “bistable” way: it keeps conducting when it receives a certain amount of current in its input, and stops conducting when the current reverses its direction. So it is a kind of switch, but without any moving part, and it can handle high voltages and currents.
A thyristor is in effect a switchable diode. Where a diode has 2 terminals (negative and positive) and will only allow current to flow in one direction, a thyristor has 3 terminals (negative, positive and control) so in order for a thyristor to allow current to pass through it, it requires an voltage across the control terminal.
A simple explanation would be that a diode is a one way valve. Where as a thyristor is a one way valve that can be switched on or off. When it’s powered off it will not let current flow in either direction, when powered on it will only allow current one way like a diode.
Please note I’m a mechanical engineer so this is just my basic understanding, I’m sure a sparky will be along soon to tell me how wrong I am.
Trying to break it down closer to an actual ELI5 since basic explanation is already given: Think of a thyristor as a diode with an on switch (oversimplification). Diodes act like a self closing, one way door to let the magic pixies (current) go through the wires in one direction only, by adding the on switch to make it a thryristor the one way door is now a magic door that opens only when you tell it to. The complication is you have no control over closing the door (through the thyristor directly anyway unless using a special type like a gate turn off thyristor), and once you tell that door to open and the pixies start rushing through the door it won’t close on it’s own because all those pixies moving through keep pushing it open for the ones behind them. So until the pixies stop moving, or decide to turn around and go back the other direction, the door won’t close.
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