Capacitor Charging Equation  | The transient behavior of a circuit with a battery, a resistor and a capacitor is governed by Ohm's law, the voltage law and the definition of capacitance. Development of the capacitor charging relationship requires calculus methods and involves a differential equation. For continuously varying charge the current is defined by a derivative  This kind of differential equation has a general solution of the form:  and the detailed solution is formed by substitution of the general solution and forcing it to fit the boundary conditions of this problem. The result is  |
| Charging capacitor | Capacitor discharge |
| IndexDC CircuitsCapacitor Concepts |
| HyperPhysics***** Electricity and Magnetism | R Nave |
| Go Back |
Capacitor Discharge Calculation For circuit parameters: | C = μF, RC = s = time constant. |
 | This circuit will have a maximum current of Imax = A |
just after the switch is closed. | The charge will start at its maximum value Qmax= μC. |
| the current is = Imax = A, |
| the capacitor voltage is = V0 = V, |
| and the charge on the capacitor is = Qmax = μC |
| Capacitor discharge derivation | Capacitor charging discussion |
| IndexDC CircuitsCapacitor Concepts |
| HyperPhysics***** Electricity and Magnetism | R Nave |
| Go Back |