RL time constant calculator
The RL time constant tau equals inductance L divided by resistance R and sets the natural speed of current change in a series resistor-inductor circuit.
Run — free
Runs in your browser. Free, unlimited — your data never leaves this page.
After one tau, a step-driven RL loop has risen to about sixty-three percent of its steady current or fallen to about thirty-seven percent of its starting current, so designers, students, and lab teams reach for tau whenever they size coils, pick series resistors, or check how fast a relay driver or snubber path settles. This capability evaluates tau equals L over R deterministically from a JSON body, returns seconds with SI unit labels, and rejects zero resistance so division by zero never becomes infinity or NaN. The algorithm is pure floating-point arithmetic with stable rounding—no network, no random seed, no wall clock—so identical inputs always yield identical JSON. The browser widget runs free on your device; the prepaid API charges $0.002 per successful item when servers and SDKs need the same contract under KIT balance.
How to use it
Enter your values in the form above. The tool checks them before calculating and shows the result on the same page.
Check your inputs
Use the labels and units shown next to each field. If something is missing or outside the allowed range, the page points to the field to fix.
Use it again or automate it
Use the browser tool for individual checks and the API when you need the same capability in an automated workflow.
What you can do with it
Get an answer now
Enter one set of values and see the result without building a spreadsheet or script.
Compare scenarios
Change one value at a time and rerun the calculation to understand what affects the result.
Automate repeated work
Use the API when the same calculation needs to run inside your product or workflow.
FAQ
How do I use this capability?
Complete the fields above and run it on this page. The form highlights anything that needs attention.
For developers — API access
Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.
API endpoint
Prefer to automate it? One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. The same capability also runs here on the web, by email and from Telegram — and soon from our app too.
Call it from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/elec/rl-time-constant \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"inductance":0.1,"resistance":50}'const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/elec/rl-time-constant", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"inductance": 0.1,
"resistance": 50
})
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();import os, requests
res = requests.post(
"https://api.kit.forhosting.com/elec/rl-time-constant",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
json={
"inductance": 0.1,
"resistance": 50
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/elec/rl-time-constant", false, stream_context_create([
"http" => [
"method" => "POST",
"header" => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
"content" => '{"inductance":0.1,"resistance":50}',
],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"inductance":0.1,"resistance":50}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/elec/rl-time-constant", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)Example request
{
"inductance": 0.1,
"resistance": 50
}Example response
{
"task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
"type": "elec.rl_time_constant",
"status": "queued",
"_links": {
"result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
}
}The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.
Pricing
Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.
Errors
| HTTP | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
401 | unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key. |
402 | insufficient_balance | Your balance doesn't cover the task price. |
404 | unknown_type | That task type doesn't exist. |
429 | rate_limited | Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling. |