Three point charges, two positive and one
negative, each having a magnitude of 30 µC
are placed at the vertices of an equilateral
triangle (43 cm on a side).
What is the magnitude of the electrostatic
force on one of the positive charges?
The value of the Coulomb constant is
8.98755 × 109 N · m2
/C
2
.
Answer in units of N.
ty
To find the magnitude of the electrostatic force on one of the positive charges, we can use Coulomb's Law. Coulomb's Law states that the electrostatic force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of their magnitudes and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The equation for Coulomb's Law is:
F = k * (q1 * q2) / r^2
Where:
F is the electrostatic force between the charges
k is the Coulomb constant (8.98755 × 10^9 N·m^2/C^2)
q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the two charges
r is the distance between the charges
In this case, we have two positive charges of 30 µC each and a negative charge of 30 µC. Since the charges are equidistant from each other, we can calculate the distance between them.
The equation for the distance in an equilateral triangle is:
r = side length / √3
In this case, the side length is 43 cm. Converting it to meters, we have:
r = 0.43 m / √3
Now we can plug in the values into Coulomb's Law to find the electrostatic force on one of the positive charges:
F = (8.98755 × 10^9 N·m^2/C^2) * ((30 µC) * (30 µC)) / (0.43 m / √3)^2
Calculating the equation will give us the magnitude of the electrostatic force in Newtons (N).