eli5: When a circuit is switched on, why does the current increase all at once to the maximum before gradually decreasing?
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A lot of electrical circuits include a component called a capacitor. A capacitor can do a bunch of different jobs by storing a bunch of energy and then being slow about how it releases it back into the circuit. But capacitors can also be dangerous because they store a bunch of energy that can suddenly be released all at once when you short them out. So typically, they will have “bleed off resistors” to discharge them when the circuit is switched off. So typically, when you switch a circuit on, there will be an initial inrush of energy to the capacitors as they fill themselves up to operating levels.
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