A cube of side L is place in a uniform electric field E = 3200 N/C. What is the net flux through the cube. Assume the electric field lines are parallel with the edges of the cube. Make sure you know why this is the answer.
I know its not perpendicular or at an angle
So if it's parallel the net flux has to be negative or positive. Is that +3200 or -3200? I can only put one answer.
The answer is zero.
To determine the net flux through the cube, we first need to understand the concept of electric flux. Electric flux (Φ) is a measure of the amount of electric field passing through a given surface.
In the case of a cube placed in a uniform electric field, with the electric field lines parallel to the edges of the cube, we can determine the net flux by calculating the total electric flux passing through each of the cube's six faces and then summing them.
Given that the electric field (E) is parallel to the cube's edges, there won't be any electric flux passing through the top and bottom faces of the cube since the electric field lines are orthogonal (perpendicular) to these faces.
However, the electric field lines are parallel to the other four faces of the cube. Since the electric field is uniform throughout, the flux passing through these four faces will be equal.
Let's calculate the electric flux passing through one of these parallel faces:
Electric flux through one face = Electric field (E) * Area (A)
The area of each face of the cube is (L * L) = L^2.
Therefore, the flux through one face is equal to E * L^2.
Since we have four faces with the same electric flux, the total electric flux passing through those four faces is:
Total flux = 4 * (E * L^2) = 4EL^2
Now, to answer your question, since the electric field is given as E = 3200 N/C, we plug this value into our equation for total flux:
Total flux = 4 * (3200 N/C) * L^2
Hence, the net flux through the cube in this case would be 4 * (3200 N/C) * L^2.
Please note that since the question does not provide the value of L (the side length of the cube), we can't give a specific numerical value for the net flux. You would need to know the value of L in order to calculate the exact net flux through the cube.