Time Constant

A time constant is the amount of time it takes for a meteorological sensor to respond to a rapid change in a measurand until it is measuring values within the accuracy tolerance usually expected of the sensor.

This most often applies to measurements of temperature, dewpoint temperature, humidity and air pressure. Radiosondes are especially affected due to their rapid increase in altitude.

Famous quotes containing the words time and/or constant:

    “Away went the messenger’s bicycle,
    His serpent’s track went up the hill forever.
    And all the time she stood there hot as fever
    And cold as any icicle.”
    —John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)

    “There’s nothing constant in the world,
    All ebb and flow, and every shape that’s born
    Bears in its womb the seeds of change.”
    —Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)