Time constant definition

Time constant

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noun

(1) The ratio of the inductance of a circuit in henries to its resistance in ohms

(2) (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

WiktionaryText

Noun

A characteristic of an exponential function, represented by τ in the function:

$y(t) \ = \ y_o e^{-t / \tau} \$ .
The time in which a physical system's response to a step-wise change in an external variable reaches approximately 63% of its final (asymptotic) value.