If I were to take a standard AC to DC converter, say a laptop charger, and hook up the input side (which expects 120VAC at 60Hz) to a DC power supply of some sorts, will the electricity still be “converted,” or will it just not work at all? I am clearly very uneducated when it comes to electronics (albeit working on it) so I would very much an ELI5 answer Thanks!
It will not work… if you look at a simple AC to DC converter (half-wave rectifier) either output = 0 volts or output = input - conduction losses, depending on how you polarized the DC source.
In another circuit (full wave rectifier), the diodes will be polarized such at two will allow current flow. output = input - conduction losses
If the rectifier is something more complex (12 pulse rectifier)… this circuit relies on transformers. If you put DC on the primary of the transformer then the output will be 0 volts and thus the rectifier output will also be 0 volts. In this example I’ve ignored the fact that the transformers have 3 terminals and the DC source would only have 2.
I’m less knowledgeable of more elegant rectification methods (such as active rectification)…
Interestingly… the fundamental DC to AC converter (inverter) is the same circuit as the full wave rectifier, with the diodes replaced with controllable switches (SCRs, IGBTs, IGCTs, MOSFETs, ect.)