What makes the lights dim?
An electrical component in the dimmer, called a triac, actually turns the light on and off very rapidly – 120 times per second. But with a dimmer, just like when you watch a movie and your eye “smooths out” the rapid movement changes, your eye perceives a steady dimmed light level. The longer the light is “on” versus “off”, the brighter the lights appear. Conversely, when the light is “off” more than “on”, the lights are dimmer.
