Interactive simulation
RC charge & discharge simulation
A capacitor charging through a resistor, live, with its time constant.
The curve stops at 5τ, where it is within 0.7 % of its target and nothing further is visible — a 100 s time constant would otherwise crawl toward the line for eight minutes. Move any control or flip Charge/Discharge to run it again, or press Restart to put the capacitor back at the start of the direction it is in — empty for a charge, at Vin for a discharge. Flipping mid-curve keeps the same time base, so the voltage bends toward the new target without resetting: one τ after the flip it has closed 63.2 % of the new gap (dashed marker).
What you can change
- R
- C
- Vin
