Electric OU: Supplement: Function Generator as Current Source 2
Or three or four, I’ve lost count at how many times I have demonstrated this simple fact. The FUNCTION GENERATOR IS A POWER SUPPLY. It functions just exactly like any other voltage-regulated power supply except it has the ability to “switch polarities” without switching leads around. If you could turn the voltage knob on a power supply in a sinusoidal manner, or flip it on and off with a relay, you would be making a sine wave or a square wave JUST LIKE A FUNCTION GENERATOR. The current flowing from or into (same thing) the FG is determined by its output voltage and the impedance of the load…. just as any other power supply behaves. The Function Generator is a power supply, can be placed in series with other power supplies, has a 50 ohm internal impedance between the leads, and obeys Ohm’s Law and the Laws of Thermodynamics.