For one, it acted like a rectifier ... including Shockley Diodes, exist. Thyristors are chiefly used as switches to control power supplies -- often in electrical utility systems.

Their benefits are such that it’s become surprisingly rare to see a traditional linear power supply with a mains-frequency transformer and rectifier circuit, so [ElectroBoy]’s dual voltage PSU ...

The devices are optimized for use as clamp, snubber, and freewheeling diodes in various applications, including flyback auxiliary power supplies and high-frequency rectifiers for bootstrap driver ...