Capacitor Energy and Time Constant Calculator
A Capacitor Energy and Time Constant Calculator is a tool used to calculate:
Energy stored in a capacitor: A capacitor stores electrical energy in an electric field when voltage is applied across its terminals. The stored energy
E (in joules) is calculated with the formula:
where:
C = Capacitance (in farads)
V = Voltage across the capacitor (in volts)
Time constant of a capacitor circuit: In an RC (resistor-capacitor) circuit, the time constant
τ (in seconds) determines how quickly the capacitor charges or discharges. It's calculated as:
τ=RC
where:
R = Resistance (in ohms)
C = Capacitance (in farads)
The time constant τ represents the time it takes for the voltage across the capacitor to reach about 63% of its final value during charging or fall to about 37% during discharging.