An electric force of 3x10^-8N is produced from an electrostatic point charge of 4x10^-10. It is 40cm from another electrostatic point charge. What is the charge of the second point?
To find the charge of the second point, we can use Coulomb's Law, which states that the electric force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Coulomb's Law equation can be written as:
F = k * (q1 * q2) / (r^2)
where F is the electric force, k is the electrostatic constant, q1 and q2 are the charges of the two points, and r is the distance between them.
Given:
F = 3x10^-8 N
q1 = 4x10^-10 C
r = 40 cm = 0.4 m
We can rearrange the equation to solve for q2:
q2 = (F * r^2) / (k * q1)
First, we need to calculate the value of k. The electrostatic constant is approximately 8.988 × 10^9 N m^2/C^2.
Now, let's substitute the values into the equation:
q2 = (3x10^-8 N * (0.4 m)^2) / (8.988 × 10^9 N m^2/C^2 * 4x10^-10 C)
Simplifying the equation gives:
q2 = 4.8x10^-10 C
Therefore, the charge of the second point is 4.8x10^-10 C.