Two Q = +6.72 mC charges are placed at opposite corners of a square d = 1.5 m on each side, and -Q = -6.72 mC charges are placed at the remaining corners, as shown in the figure.
Q___________-Q
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-Q__________Q
What are you trying to solve for?
To find the electric field at a point in space due to the charges, you can use the principle of superposition. The electric field at a point is the vector sum of the electric fields produced by each individual charge.
The electric field due to a point charge Q at a distance r from it is given by the equation:
E = k * (Q / r^2)
where k is the electrostatic constant, which has a value of approximately 9.0 x 10^9 Nm^2/C^2.
Let's label the charges as Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4, with Q1 and Q4 being the positive charges (+6.72 mC) and Q2 and Q3 being the negative charges (-6.72 mC).
The net electric field at a point due to Q1 and Q2 can be found by summing the individual electric fields:
E_1,2 = E(Q1) + E(Q2)
Similarly, the net electric field at a point due to Q3 and Q4 can be found by summing the individual electric fields:
E_3,4 = E(Q3) + E(Q4)
Finally, the total electric field at a point due to all four charges can be found by summing the contributions from E_1,2 and E_3,4:
E_total = E_1,2 + E_3,4
To calculate the electric field at a specific point, you'll need to know the distance between the point and each of the four charges. Once you have these distances, you can use the equation mentioned earlier to find the electric field due to each charge and sum them up to find the total electric field at the point.