Free RL Time Constant Calculator

Calculate the RL time constant of a resistor-inductor circuit: tau = L / R.

mH
Ω

Time Constant (τ)

0.005000 s

Time Constant (ms)5.0000 ms

Time Constant (τ) vs Inductance

RL Time Constant

The RL time constant governs how quickly current builds up or decays in an inductor-resistor circuit.

Formula

τ = L / R

After one time constant, the current reaches 63.2% of its final steady-state value.

Example Calculation

A 50 mH inductor with a 10 Ω resistor.

  1. 01τ = L / R
  2. 02τ = 50e-3 / 10
  3. 03τ = 0.005 s = 5 ms

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