NumericalDiffEqs

Remember the equation for the cell with only leak channels.

$C \frac{dV}{dt} = I(t) - g_L(V - E_L)$

Let's simplify: suppose there is no injected current and that the reversal potential for the leak channels is $E_L = 0$. Then our equation is

$\frac{dV}{dt} = - \frac{g_L}{C} V$

Using different letters for the variables (because this is done in the software linked below):

$\frac{dy}{dt} = - k y$

Here k is the rate constant, 1/k is the time constant, 1/k is $\frac{C}{g_L} = RC$ in the notation above. The bigger k the higher the rate of convergence, and the smaller the time constant 1/k. The time constant is the time it takes the solution to decay to 1/e of its value.

Click here for code for visualizing the numerical solution of differential equations.