I'm learning about capacitors now and I understand all the equations about charging current and the exponential curve of voltage over time. The chapter is starting to have me calculate the time constant for various different experiments.
While I can blindly follow the equations and come up with solutions that are right I still can't wrap my head around WHY if you multiply the resistance and the capacitance you arrive at a number (tau) that just happens to equal the time it takes to reach 63% of the maximum voltage.
It just doesn't seem intuitive and it's bothering me. Is it simply too complicated for a beginner to understand so it's not explained in depth or am I missing something?
http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/capacit.htm#charging
While I can blindly follow the equations and come up with solutions that are right I still can't wrap my head around WHY if you multiply the resistance and the capacitance you arrive at a number (tau) that just happens to equal the time it takes to reach 63% of the maximum voltage.
It just doesn't seem intuitive and it's bothering me. Is it simply too complicated for a beginner to understand so it's not explained in depth or am I missing something?
http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/capacit.htm#charging