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The term "pulsed DC" as used in this article is more appropriately called "half-wave" or "full-wave" rectified AC as in the Wikipedia
"Rectifier" article. The term "pulsed DC" is commonly used to describe a signal consisting of one or more rectangular ("flat-topped"), rather than sinusoidal, pulses.[1]Kesteinke (talk) 17:05, 6 July 2015 (UTC)kesteinke[reply]
One fifty year old textbook defines "pulsed DC" as if it were something special because the voltage never dips below zero. It's a definitional problem. By implication, it is DC, with all that goes along with it: (a) its Fourier transform has a single peak at zero hertz, and (b) won't be converted by a transformer. The definition of pulsed DC is specious. The cases worthy of discussion, "flat-topped," half-wave, and full-wave rectified AC, are all signals with one or more sinusoidal components in superposition with a DC voltage. One might argue that a square wave between zero and x volts is pulsed DC, but a Fourier analysis will show that it has an infinite number of odd-numbered sinusoidal harmonics. This badly formed definition (courtesy of the authority of Wikipedia) is being used a authority in other venues, such as physics.stackexchange. The challenge is to find an authority that says this definition is wrong. I recommend the article be rewritten or scrapped. Rhadow (talk) 13:28, 11 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
On second thought, here is a better argument against this article. "Pulsed DC" fails as a definition. It makes an assertion of what it *is*, but is insufficient to describe what it *isn't*: a sinusoidal signal (alternating current by definition) superposed on a direct current (whose Fourier transform has a single peak at zero). If you cannot describe what it isn't, then it is everything. At best, it conveys little information. At worst, it's illogical. Rhadow (talk) 00:50, 12 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
^Chapter 2 of "Introductory Signals and Circuits" by Jose B. Cruz, Jr. and M. E. Van Valkenburg, Blaisdell Publishing Company, 1967.
