Fig. 21.2 (i) shows the basic structure of a triac. As we shall see, a triac is equivalent to two separate SCRs connected in inverse parallel (i.e. anode of each connected to the cathode of the other) with gates commoned as shown in Fig. 21.2 (ii). Therefore, a triac acts like a bidirectional switch i.e. it can conduct current in either direction. This is unlike an SCR which can conduct current only in one direction. Fig. 21.2 (iii) shows the schematic symbol of a triac. The symbol consists of two parallel diodes connected in opposite directions with a single gate lead. It can be seen that even the symbol of triac indicates that it can conduct current for either polarity of the main terminals (MT1 and MT2) i.e. it can act as a bidirectional switch. The gate provides control over conduction in either direction.