Charged Ball on String: Tension and Vertical Movement Explained

[bodensee9]

Hello:

Suppose that I have a charged ball hanging on a string. Then I placed a charged rod next to the ball and caused my string to make an angle with the vertical. Then, the tension in the string in the horizontal component would be equal to the force from the charged rod, no? That's the only force that's causing the string to move with respect to the vertical. Then my tension in the vertical component = mg.

Thanks.

 

[LowlyPion]

Hello:

Suppose that I have a charged ball hanging on a string. Then I placed a charged rod next to the ball and caused my string to make an angle with the vertical. Then, the tension in the string in the horizontal component would be equal to the force from the charged rod, no? That's the only force that's causing the string to move with respect to the vertical. Then my tension in the vertical component = mg.

Thanks.

Sounds OK.

And the angle it makes θ, is the tan^-1(F_elec/F_mg)

 

[nlightner]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing your experiment with me. I can confirm that your understanding of the forces at play in this scenario is correct. The tension in the string's horizontal component is indeed equal to the force from the charged rod, as this is the only force acting on the ball in that direction. And the tension in the vertical component will be equal to the weight of the ball, which is equivalent to mg.

By introducing the charged rod, you have created an electric field around the ball, which interacts with the ball's own charge. This results in a force that causes the ball to move in the horizontal direction, while the tension in the string maintains its vertical position. This experiment is a great example of how the principles of tension and electric forces work together to explain the movement of an object.

I hope this helps further your understanding of these concepts. Keep up the curious and scientific mindset!