Net Electrostatic Force on Electron in Charged Insulator

[kiwikahuna]

Homework Statement

a circular ring made of an insulating material is cut in half. one half is given a charge -q uniformly distributed along its arc. The other half is given a charge +q also uniformly distributed along its arc. The two halves are then rejoined with insulation at the junctions J as shown. If there is no change in the charge distributions, what is the direction of the net electrostatic force on an electron located at the center of the circle?

[i've attached the picture of the circle for a better visual. ]

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution

I think the direction would be downwards but I'm not entirely sure. My reasoning is that because the top half of the circle is negatively charged while the bottom half is positively charged, the electron (negatively charged) would be attracted to the positive charges while repelled by the negative charges thus the force would put down. Is this correct?

 

[Doc Al]

Yes, that's correct. The field points upwards; the force points downwards.

 

[m2003]

Your reasoning is correct. Since the top half of the circle has a negative charge and the bottom half has a positive charge, the net electrostatic force on an electron located at the center of the circle would be downwards. This can be explained by Coulomb's law, which states that opposite charges attract each other and like charges repel each other. Since the electron has a negative charge, it would be attracted to the positive charges on the bottom half and repelled by the negative charges on the top half, resulting in a net force downwards. This is a common phenomenon in charged insulators, where the net electrostatic force on a charged particle depends on the distribution of charges on the insulator.