Click on the arrows to select various values of resistance and capacitance. Note resulting changes in the RC time constant. The amount time required to charge and discharge a capacitor is a very important factor in the design of circuits. Resistors are often used in combination with capacitors in order to control the charge and discharge time necessary for the intended application.
Resistance directly affects the time required to charge a capacitor.
As resistance increases, it takes more time to charge a capacitor. The amount of time for the capacitor to become fully charged in a RC circuit depends on the values of the capacitor and resistor in the circuit. As you adjust the values of resistance and capacitance, note how the rate of charge greatly decreases over time. The latter part of the charging time is many times longer than the first part. Because of this, capacitors in actual applications are generally not fully charged.