a charge +6 C experiences a force of 2mN in +x direction. a)what was the electric field there before charge was placed there? b)describe the force which a -2c charge would experience if it were used in place of the +6 c charge?
F = k Q E
one third as much and in -x direction
To find the electric field in both scenarios, we can use Coulomb's law:
a) Electric field before the charge was placed there:
Coulomb's law states that the force between two charges is given by the equation:
F = k * (q1 * q2) / r^2
Where F is the force between the charges, k is the electrostatic constant (k = 9 x 10^9 N * m^2 / C^2), q1 is the charge that experiences the force, q2 is the charge producing the field, and r is the distance between the charges.
In this case, we have F = 2 mN = 2 * 10^-3 N, q1 = 6 C, and q2 (unknown). We can rearrange the equation to solve for q2:
q2 = (F * r^2) / (k * q1)
Since we have the values of F and q1, we need the value of r to calculate q2. However, from the given information, we do not have the distance between the charges.
b) Force experienced by a -2 C charge:
Using Coulomb's law again, we can calculate the force experienced by a -2 C charge. In this case, q1 is replaced with -2 C, and q2 is the charge producing the field (6 C in this scenario).
F = k * (q1 * q2) / r^2
Substituting the given values, we can calculate the force experienced by the -2 C charge.
Please provide the distance between the charges (r) so we can proceed with the calculations.