A carbon atom's nucleus and its electrons become separated by 20nm. What is the magnitude of the force the nucleus feels towards the electrons in N? Assume the electrons remain together.

Answer 1

To determine the magnitude of the force the nucleus feels towards the electrons, we can use Coulomb's Law, which states that the force between two charged particles is given by:

F = (k * q1 * q2) / r^2

Where:
F = Force
k = Coulomb's constant (approximated as 9 × 10^9 N m^2/C^2)
q1, q2 = electric charges of the two particles
r = separation between the two particles

In this case, the electric charge of a carbon atom is neutral (zero), so we will only consider the force due to the positively charged nucleus towards the negatively charged electrons.

The equation becomes:

F = (k * q_nucleus * q_electrons) / r^2

Since q_nucleus is positive and q_electrons is negative, the force will be attractive.

Given that the separation between the nucleus and the electrons is 20 nm (which is 20 × 10^-9 m), we can proceed to calculate the force:

F = (9 × 10^9 N m^2/C^2 * q_nucleus * q_electrons) / (20 × 10^-9 m)^2

However, to proceed with the calculation, we need the values of q_nucleus and q_electrons, which represent the electric charges of the nucleus and the electrons, respectively. Without this information, it is not possible to determine the exact magnitude of the force.