Chapter 24: Problem 45
A metal sphere of radius \(30 \mathrm{~cm}\) has a net charge of \(3.0 \times 10^{-8}\) C. (a) What is the electric field at the sphere's surface? (b) If \(V=0\) at infinity, what is the electric potential at the sphere's surface? (c) At what distance from the sphere's surface has the electric potential decreased by \(500 \mathrm{~V} ?\)
Short Answer
Step by step solution
Calculate the Electric Field at the Surface
Calculate the Electric Potential at the Surface
Determine the Distance for a Potential Decrease of 500 V
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Electric Potential
- Electric potential energy per unit charge is what defines this potential, and it reflects how much work would be required to move a charge to that position from a point with zero potential, such as infinity.
- The formula for electric potential, especially for a spherical charge distribution, is \( V = \frac{k \cdot Q}{r} \), where \( k \) is Coulomb's constant, \( Q \) is the charge, and \( r \) is the distance from the center of the charge.
Coulomb's Law
\[ F = k \frac{|q_1 \cdot q_2|}{r^2}\]
- Here, \( F \) is the electrostatic force, \( q_1 \) and \( q_2 \) are the charges, \( r \) is the distance separating the charges, and \( k \) is the Coulomb's constant \( (8.99 \times 10^9 \mathrm{~N} \cdot \mathrm{m}^2/\mathrm{C}^2) \).
- This principle underlies the relationship between charges and the resulting electric fields.
Charged Sphere
- The sphere can be thought of as a point charge when calculating the electric field outside it using the formula \( E = \frac{k \cdot Q}{r^2} \).
- Inside the sphere, however, different rules apply due to uniform charge distribution.
Electric Field Equation
\[E = \frac{k \cdot Q}{r^2}\]
This formula shows:
- \( E \) is the electric field directly related to the charge \( Q \) and inversely related to the square of the distance \( r \) from the charge.
- \( k \) is the proportionality constant, Coulomb's constant \( (8.99 \times 10^9 \mathrm{~N} \cdot \mathrm{m}^2/\mathrm{C}^2) \).