# Discharging capacitor

1. Apr 15, 2009

### James889

Hi,

If i have a capacitor rated x micro-Farads. And i know that it is charged to a certain voltage.
And it's being discharged by a current. How would i find the time it takes to completly discharge the capacitor?

2. Apr 15, 2009

### TurtleMeister

3. Apr 15, 2009

### James889

okay so it's an exponential decay type of function?
I suspect this is really easy. I have that the capacitor is rated at 1014$$\mu$$ farads
and that it is charged to 179V, and is being discharged at a constant rate of 163$$\mu$$A

Last edited: Apr 15, 2009
4. Apr 15, 2009

### Staff: Mentor

If you are discharging with a constant current, the voltage decay is not exponential, it is linear.

How exactly is this capacitor being discharged? How did it get to 179V in the first place?

5. Apr 15, 2009

### James889

Hmm, sorry. I just discovered i posted in the wrong forums.
Forgive me...

6. Apr 15, 2009

### Staff: Mentor

No worries. Do you want me to move the thread to the Homework Help forums?