Source: https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/capacitor-energy-charge-calculator/mechanism/

instrument mechanism / verified-clean

# Capacitor Energy & Charge Calculator mechanism

The inspectable method record for Capacitor Energy & Charge Calculator, kept separate from implementation and qualification.

Status: **VERIFIED_CLEAN**Lifecycle: **verified-clean**

## Model scope

The E and Q formulas are correct under the stated SI-unit assumptions. The specification is ambiguous and incomplete for the claimed RC charge-time output: it does not define the time target, resistance, final voltage, or formula. The blank honest_label should not imply that RC charge time is supported until those requirements are added; the label should accurately state that the current verified functionality is capacitor energy and charge only.

- E=1/2CV^2 is the standard energy stored in an ideal capacitor when C is in farads and V is in volts.

- Q=CV is the standard capacitor charge relationship; Q is signed if voltage polarity is represented, otherwise the calculator should label it as charge magnitude.

- The instrument claims to compute RC charge time, but no RC-time formula, resistance input, final voltage, target voltage, or target fraction is specified. A standard charging-time formula is t=-RC ln(1-V_target/V_final), so the RC feature cannot be verified or implemented from this specification.

- The declared outputs list only E and Q, which conflicts with the stated computation of RC charge time.

## Units and conventions

- C must be converted to farads (F), V must be in volts (V), E is returned in joules (J), and Q is returned in coulombs (C).

- For the RC-time feature, resistance would need to be in ohms (ohm), time would be in seconds (s), and V_target/V_final must be dimensionless.

- Capacitance must be positive; voltage may be signed for charge polarity, while stored energy remains nonnegative because voltage is squared.

## Inspectable vector

One of 4 source-bound review vectors:

````
{
  "inputs": {
    "C": 100,
    "C_unit": "uF",
    "V": 12,
    "V_unit": "V"
  },
  "expected_outputs": {
    "E_J": 0.0072,
    "Q_C": 0.0012
  },
  "working": "Convert capacitance: 100 uF = 100 x 10^-6 F = 0.0001 F. Energy: E = 1/2 x C x V^2 = 1/2 x 0.0001 x 12^2 = 0.5 x 0.0001 x 144 = 0.0072 J. Charge: Q = C x V = 0.0001 x 12 = 0.0012 C."
}
````

## Failure boundary

**BREAK_CLAIMED** · SELF_FLAGGED

Extreme finite inputs overflow JavaScript arithmetic to Infinity for both outputs. Additionally, the specification claims RC charge time but supplies no resistance, time constant, or RC-time formula, so that output cannot be computed from the stated inputs and formulas.

## Other records

[01**Overview**](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/capacitor-energy-charge-calculator/>)[03**Implementation**](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/capacitor-energy-charge-calculator/implementation/>)[04**Qualification**](<https://guthlabs.ai/docs/instruments/capacitor-energy-charge-calculator/qualification/>)

## Sources and evidence

These pointers bind the page to evidence. They do not grant authority or collapse verification into deployment.

- `VERIFIED_LEDGER.json`

- `evidence-tranche5/tranche5-results.json`

- `BOUNDARY_HAZARD_CATALOG.json`