A free proton and a free electron are placed in a uniform electric field. Which of the 2 will experience a greater acceleration?
f = ma; therefore,
a = f/m.
f is equal on both. Which has the larger/smaller mass. What does that do to a?
Electron mass is less than proton mass so electron has greater acceleration
To determine which particle will experience a greater acceleration, we need to consider the properties of the particles and the interaction with the uniform electric field.
In the presence of an electric field, charged particles will experience a force known as the electrostatic force. According to Coulomb's law, the magnitude of this force is given by:
F = q * E
Where:
F is the force experienced by the particle,
q is the charge of the particle,
E is the strength of the electric field.
As we know, protons and electrons have opposite charges, with the proton having a positive charge (+e) and the electron having a negative charge (-e). Here, 'e' represents the elementary charge.
Since the electrostatic force is directly proportional to the charge of the particle, the proton (with a larger charge) will experience a greater force than the electron.
Now, let's consider Newton's second law of motion, which states that the acceleration experienced by an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it and inversely proportional to its mass:
F = m * a
Where:
F is the net force acting on the particle,
m is the mass of the particle,
a is the acceleration experienced by the particle.
Both the proton and the electron have the same magnitude of charge, but they differ in mass. The mass of a proton is approximately 1836 times that of an electron. Since the force experienced by the proton is greater than that experienced by the electron, and mass is constant, we can conclude that the proton will experience a smaller acceleration compared to the electron.
Therefore, the electron will experience a greater acceleration in the uniform electric field compared to the proton.