TIME CONSTANT

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does time constant mean? 

• TIME CONSTANT (noun)
  The noun TIME CONSTANT has 2 senses:

1. (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

2. the ratio of the inductance of a circuit in henries to its resistance in ohms

  Familiarity information: TIME CONSTANT used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TIME CONSTANT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("time constant" is a kind of...):

interval; time interval (a definite length of time marked off by two instants)

Domain category:

electronics (the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "time constant"):

relaxation time (the time constant of an exponential return of a system to equilibrium after a disturbance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Hypernyms ("time constant" is a kind of...):

ratio (the relative magnitudes of two quantities (usually expressed as a quotient))