>I'm thinking of high frequency PWM switching of the AC line (like maybe
>50 or 100 kHz). If you chop the AC line with a duty cycle of 50%, then
>run it through a low pass filter, you'd get a 60V (in the US) sine wave.
>This'd require a big LPF for incoming AC and a smaller LPF on each
>output, thus driving costs up considerably. The output would be a sine
>wave, which would be nice, and the input current would also be
>sinusoidal. It's only a matter of money...

There are IC's to do this. Motorola make one in an 8 pin package IIRC. They
are used for minimising power factor problems on switch mode supplies. This
may allow you to get a DC voltage which you can then use with chopping fets
to deal with your lamp dimming. Sorry I cannot remember the IC number.

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