Question

1. How far apart must two protons be if the electrical force of repulsion acting on either one is equal to its weight?

Answers

drwls
Are you referring to the proton's weight in the Earth's gravitational field, or the electrostatic attraction force to the other proton?

I have to assume that you mean "weight in the Earth's gravitational field", since the gravitational attraction is less than the electrostatic repulsion at all distances.

So, set
M*g = k*e^2/R^2 and solve for R.
M is the proton mass
k is the coulomb constant.
e is the proton charge
g is 9.8 m/s^2


Related Questions