What is a Triac? Triacs are electronic elements that are wide utilized in AC power control applications. They are ready to switch high voltages and high levels of current, and over each elements of an AC wave form. This makes triac circuits ideal to be used in a variety of applications wherever power switching is required. One specific use of triac circuits is in light dimmers for domestic lighting, and that they are utilized in several different power control situations together with motor control and electronic switches. As a result of their performance, triacs tend to be used for low to medium power electronic switching applications, leaving thyristors to be used for the very heat duty AC power switching applications. How does a triac work? Before looking at how a triac works, it helps to have an understanding of how a thyristor works. In this way the basic concepts can be grasped for the simpler semiconductor device and then applied to a triac which is more complicate...