A positively charged particle is fixed in place, unable to move. Another charged particle is brought near and released.
(a) Which way does it move?
(b) What happens to the force, acceleration, and velocity on the moving particle as it moves?
(c) What happens to the charges’ electric potential as it moves?
(a) The moving particle will be attracted towards the positively charged particle.
(b) Initially, the moving particle will experience a strong force of attraction towards the fixed particle, resulting in a high acceleration. As it moves closer, the force of attraction will decrease and so will the acceleration. The velocity of the moving particle will increase as it moves closer to the fixed particle, but will decrease as it moves away.
(c) The electric potential at the location of the moving particle will decrease as it moves closer to the fixed particle, since the potential is inversely proportional to the distance between the two particles.