time constant


noun Electricity.

the time required for a changing quantity in a circuit, as voltage or current, to rise or fall approximately 0.632 of the difference between its old and new value after an impulse has been applied that induces such a change: equal in seconds to the inductance of the circuit in henries divided by its resistance in ohms.

Origin of time constant

First recorded in 1890–95

British Dictionary definitions for time constant

time constant

noun

electronics the time required for the current or voltage in a circuit to rise or fall exponentially through approximately 63 per cent of its amplitude