Asked by Allee
Four identical charges (+4.0 uC each) are brought from infinity and fixed to a straight line. The charges are located 0.33m apart. Determine the electric potential energy of this group.
Answers
Answered by
drwls
Add up the work required to bring the charges into their places, one at a time.
Let the charge separation for adjacent charges be a = 0.33 m
The Coulomb constant is k, and each charge is Q = 4*10^-6 C
First charge: work = 0
Second charge: work = kQ/a
Third charge: work = kQ/a + kQ/(2a)
Fourth charge: work = kQ/a + kQ/(2a) + kQ/(3a)
Add them for the total potential energy
PE = (13/3) kQ/a
Let the charge separation for adjacent charges be a = 0.33 m
The Coulomb constant is k, and each charge is Q = 4*10^-6 C
First charge: work = 0
Second charge: work = kQ/a
Third charge: work = kQ/a + kQ/(2a)
Fourth charge: work = kQ/a + kQ/(2a) + kQ/(3a)
Add them for the total potential energy
PE = (13/3) kQ/a
Answered by
joe
PE=(13/3)k(Q^2)/a
Answered by
joe
45
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