Capacitor Charging and Discharging Simulator for A Level Physics

Explore capacitor charge, potential difference, current, energy and RC time constants with aligned live graphs and exact numerical readouts.

Learning guide and suggested activities

What this tool shows

How charge, potential difference and current change together
The 63.2% and 36.8% meanings of one time constant
How resistance and capacitance set the RC time scale
How stored energy changes during charging and discharging

OCR A relevance

Module 6: Capacitors
RC circuits
Exponential equations

AQA relevance

AQA 7408 section 3.7.4: Capacitance
Energy stored by a capacitor
Capacitor charge and discharge graphs
Time constant RC and time to halve

Try these tasks

Set t = RC and compare the charging and discharging percentages.
Double R. Explain the changes to RC and initial current.
Find the time at which a discharge reaches half its initial charge.
Halve capacitor p.d. and compare the new stored energy.