Electronic – Can someone explain how this circuit works? I have an idea but I dont know if its correct

555capacitorcircuit-designtransistors

enter image description here

What circuit does is turns the lights on sequentialy like on this gif.
enter image description here

What I think is happening is that the capacitor thats connected between ground and the output pin through that 4k7 res is slowly getting charged up each time the pulse goes low and the 555 sinks the current through the output pin. The cap is charging up from 0V to some voltage that can activate first transistor and then each time it gains 0.7V more volts its can over come two then three transistors and so on. What is confusing me is that why do they turn of completely? How does the cap empty to 0V fast?

Best Answer

How does the cap empty to 0V fast?

The diode across the 4k7 resistor fast discharges the capacitor that was previously slowly charged via the 4k7 resistor during the period when the 555 outputted a high pulse. The 555 output goes low after some time and rapidly discharges the capacitor via the diode.

In all other respects your simple analysis appears correct.