We know that the negative charge on the electron and the positive charge on the proton are equal. Suppose, however, that these magnitudes differ from each other by 0.00011%. With what force would two copper pennies, placed 1.4 m apart, repel each other? Assume that each coin contains 3 1022 copper atoms. (Hint: A neutral copper atom contains 29 protons and 29 electrons.)(From your answer, it should be obvious that the magnitude of the charge on a proton and the charge on an electron cannot possibly differ by as much as the given percentage.)

I will be happy to critique your thinking or work on this. The charge on the electron and proton are not equal, they are opposites.

The total positive charge in a neutral copper penny is

Q+ = (3 × 1022 atoms)(29 protons/atom)((1.60 × 10−19 C/proton) = 1.39 × 105 C
and the total negative charge is Q− = −1.39 × 105C. If the positive charge were greater b y
a factor of 5.0 × 10−7 and the negative charge were less by the same factor, the net charge
on the penny would be (1.39 × 105)(1.0 × 10−6) = 0.139 C. Use Coulomb’s law to find the
force of one penny on another, separated by 1.0m.

To calculate the force with which two objects repel each other due to their charges, we need to use Coulomb's Law. Coulomb's Law states that the force between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Let's break down the problem step by step:

1. Determine the magnitude of the charge on a copper atom:
- Each copper atom contains 29 protons and 29 electrons.
- Assuming that the negative charge on the electron is equal to the positive charge on the proton, the net charge on a copper atom is zero (since positive and negative charges cancel each other out).

2. Calculate the total charge on two copper pennies:
- Since a copper atom has no net charge, the two copper pennies will also have no net charge.

3. Calculate the force between the two copper pennies:
- Assume that each penny contains 3 * 10^22 copper atoms.
- Since the charge on each copper penny is zero, there will be no force of repulsion between them. This is because Coulomb's Law only applies when there are charges present.

The hint given in the question is misleading. While it suggests that the charge on the electron and proton differs by 0.00011%, this is not accurate. In reality, the charge on the electron and proton is exactly the same but with opposite signs.

In summary, the force with which the two copper pennies repel each other is zero since their charges are neutral.