If I have for example a battery that outputs 10 V but with a maximum of 0.5 A. If I took the output of the battery and entered it in a buck converter to get 5 V will I get the same 0.5 A at 5 V or I will get 1 A?
In my small knowledge what I know that the watts should be the same so 10V * 0.5A = 5W, so 5V * 1A = 5W. Is this true or it's only theoritical?
Best Answer
Assuming a buck converter that's 100% efficient, yes, you will be able to draw 1A from the output.
In practice, buck converters can be very efficient, often over 90%, so you'll still be able to get around 900mA output, which is rather better than the 500mA you'd get with a linear regulator.
An important part of the buck converter system is its input filter capacitor, which provides pulses of the high output current to the converter, while drawing the continuous average lower current from the input.