Find the net electrostatic in N or Q2 due to Q1 + Q2
To find the net electrostatic force on Q2 due to Q1 and Q2, we need to use the principle of superposition. The principle states that the net force on an object due to multiple charges is the vector sum of the individual forces exerted by each charge.
The electrostatic force between two charged objects is given by Coulomb's Law:
F = k * |Q1 * Q2| / r^2
where:
F is the electrostatic force between the charges,
k is the electrostatic constant (approximately 9 * 10^9 Nm^2/C^2),
Q1 and Q2 are the magnitudes of the two charges (in Coulombs), and
r is the distance between the charges (in meters).
To calculate the net electrostatic force on Q2, we need to consider the forces exerted by both Q1 and Q2 on Q2 separately. Let's denote the force exerted by Q1 on Q2 as F1, and the force exerted by Q2 on Q2 as F2.
F1 = k * |Q1 * Q2| / r1^2
F2 = k * |Q2 * Q2| / r2^2
However, Q2 exerts a force on itself, so we have to subtract this self-force from the total force F2. The self-force is given by:
F_self = k * |Q2 * Q2| / r_self^2
where r_self is the distance between Q2 and itself (usually taken as zero).
Now, the net force on Q2 is:
Net force = F1 + (F2 - F_self)
To summarize, to find the net electrostatic force on Q2 due to Q1 and Q2, we calculate the forces exerted by Q1 and Q2 on Q2 separately using Coulomb's Law, and then consider the self-force exerted by Q2 on itself. Finally, we sum up the forces and subtract the self-force to obtain the net force on Q2.