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RC discharge

What you are seeing: a capacitor charged to V0V_0 discharging through a resistor RR. Kirchhoff's loop equation gives VC(t)=V0exp(t/τ)V_C(t) = V_0 \exp(-t/\tau) with τ=RC\tau = RC. The current is just I(t)=VC(t)/RI(t) = V_C(t)/R, also exponentially decaying. The orange ball on the circuit diagram represents the charge Q(t)=CV(t)Q(t) = C V(t) leaking from the capacitor through the resistor.

Look for the canonical time constants: VV drops to 1/e371/e \approx 37 percent at t=τt = \tau, to half at t=τln20.693τt = \tau \ln 2 \approx 0.693 \tau, and to 1 percent at t4.6τt \approx 4.6 \tau. Total energy dissipated as heat in RR equals the initial UC(0)=12CV02U_C(0) = \tfrac{1}{2} C V_0^2.

Figure 1. Capacitor discharging through a resistor. Method: closed-form V(t)=V0et/τV(t) = V_0 e^{-t/\tau}, τ=RC\tau = RC.
V_0 (V)10.0
R (kOhm)10.0
C (uF)10.0

WHAT TO TRY

  • Vary each control and watch the rail readouts respond.
  • Compare the diagnostic plot against the live scene.