Once I filter out ripple with a capacitor, why doesn't the DC get blocked since caps block DC?

Question

Once I filter out ripple with a capacitor, why doesn't the DC get blocked since caps block DC?

Answer 1

If you put a capacitor in series with the output of your PS, the DC would be blocked, and you would get no output.

When you put a cap across the supply, the DC is blocked, otherwise the supply would be shorted out by the cap. But it does look like a short (partially) for AC, which is why the ripple is reduced.

Answer 2

The electrostatic fields between the plates of a capacitor respond to "changing" voltage or current.  Thus, a capacitor reacts to AC signal voltage and blocks DC voltage.  A ripple filter capacitor will pass the changing AC ripple voltage to ground while blocking the DC component and keeping it above ground level.  AC gets shorted to ground (parallel connection) and DC gets passed on to other electronic circuits.

Can you kind of see how that works?