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Electrical Engineering › Section G · Capacitors › Topic G.3

Charging and discharging transients

A capacitor cannot change its voltage instantly, so when a switch closes in an R-C circuit, voltages and currents glide to their new values along exponential curves. One number, the time constant RC, tells you how long that takes.

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In this topic

  • The transient phase
  • The charging phase
  • The time constant
  • Worked example: charging
  • The discharge phase
  • Initial values and the general equation
  • Thevenin equivalent: τ = R_Th C
  • Worked example: a network with a starting voltage
  • The current i_C = C dv/dt
  • Common mistakes to avoid
  • Key takeaways

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