Of the charge Q initially on a tiny sphere, a portion q is to be transferred to a second, nearby sphere. Both spheres can be treated as particles and are fixed with a certain separation. For what value of q/Q will the electrostatic force between the two spheres be maximized?
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Textbook Solutions for Fundamentals of Physics, Volume 2 (Chapters 21 - 44)
Question
In Fig. 21-39, two tiny conducting balls of identical mass m and identical charge q hang from nonconducting threads of length L.Assume that u is so small that tan u can be replaced by its approximate equal, sin u. (a) Show that x q2L2p0mg 1/3W, gives the equilibrium separation x of the balls. (b) If L 120 cm, m 10 g, and x 5.0 cm, what is |q|? L Lq qxFigure 21-39 42 and 43.
Solution
The first step in solving 21 problem number 42 trying to solve the problem we have to refer to the textbook question: In Fig. 21-39, two tiny conducting balls of identical mass m and identical charge q hang from nonconducting threads of length L.Assume that u is so small that tan u can be replaced by its approximate equal, sin u. (a) Show that x q2L2p0mg 1/3W, gives the equilibrium separation x of the balls. (b) If L 120 cm, m 10 g, and x 5.0 cm, what is |q|? L Lq qxFigure 21-39 42 and 43.
From the textbook chapter Coulombs Law you will find a few key concepts needed to solve this.
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