Charged particle movement close to single charged plate

In summary: What if a parallel plate capacitor were charged up using a battery, and the plates were then isolated from the battery terminals. As you state, you know how to calculate the electric field between the plates. Now remove one of the plates a large distance away. Would the electric field from the remaining plate be half of what it is with both plates in place? I'm not sure. In any case, in my first answer I assumed that the test charge was relatively insignificant, and wouldn't result in a buildup of opposite-sign charge on the single plate. If this assumption isn't good, you'd have to use the method of images to calculate the E field between the test charge and the plate. Sorry I can
  • #1
pchama1
2
0
Hi everybody.
I am a mechanical engineer trying to do an electrical experiment.
I wonder if anybody can help me with an advice.

Here is my experiment. I have a single rectangular metal plate to which I apply a known high negative voltage DC. Not sure yet what that voltage is going to be. Let's say 10kV. Next, I bombard the plate with negatively charged water droplets flying into the plate at 200 miles per hour. Here is my question. Will electrostatic force between the plate and the droplets be high enough to deflect the droplets away from the plate ? The droplet diameter is let's say 20 microns. I do not know yet its charge but I am pretty sure I will be able to vary it.

Is there any way to calculate the electrostatic force applied to the droplet as it approaches the plate ?

Thank you
 
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  • #2
pchama1 said:
Hi everybody.
I have a single rectangular metal plate to which I apply a known high negative voltage DC. Not sure yet what that voltage is going to be. Let's say 10kV. Next, I bombard the plate with negatively charged water droplets flying into the plate at 200 miles per hour. Here is my question. Will electrostatic force between the plate and the droplets be high enough to deflect the droplets away from the plate ? The droplet diameter is let's say 20 microns. I do not know yet its charge but I am pretty sure I will be able to vary it.

Is there any way to calculate the electrostatic force applied to the droplet as it approaches the plate ?

Thank you

The electric force experienced by a droplet will just be the droplet's excess charge multiplied by the plate's electric field. The plate's electric field can be calculated from its voltage, provided your drop is coming into the middle of the plate's surface and you're not too far away from the plate. For the other information, such as your droplet's diameter, etc., and how they factor into the experiment, I suggest you Google (or read about) Millikan's oil drop experiment. You'll find useful formulas relating droplet diameter and drag, etc., there.
 
  • #3
GRDixon said:
The electric force experienced by a droplet will just be the droplet's excess charge multiplied by the plate's electric field. The plate's electric field can be calculated from its voltage, provided your drop is coming into the middle of the plate's surface and you're not too far away from the plate. For the other information, such as your droplet's diameter, etc., and how they factor into the experiment, I suggest you Google (or read about) Millikan's oil drop experiment. You'll find useful formulas relating droplet diameter and drag, etc., there.

Thank you GRDixon. In Millikan's experiment he used two plates parallel to each other. It is easy to calculate the electric field for two plates. But how to obtain an electric field for a single blade given the know voltage applied?
 
  • #4
pchama1 said:
Thank you GRDixon. In Millikan's experiment he used two plates parallel to each other. It is easy to calculate the electric field for two plates. But how to obtain an electric field for a single blade given the know voltage applied?

What if a parallel plate capacitor were charged up using a battery, and the plates were then isolated from the battery terminals. As you state, you know how to calculate the electric field between the plates. Now remove one of the plates a large distance away. Would the electric field from the remaining plate be half of what it is with both plates in place? I'm not sure. In any case, in my first answer I assumed that the test charge was relatively insignificant, and wouldn't result in a buildup of opposite-sign charge on the single plate. If this assumption isn't good, you'd have to use the method of images to calculate the E field between the test charge and the plate. Sorry I can't be of more help. I did a cursory walkthrough of a couple of texts, and didn't find any discussion of the E field of a single plate, raised to a potential V.
 

1. What is a charged particle?

A charged particle is an object that possesses an electric charge, either positive or negative, due to an imbalance in the number of protons and electrons it contains.

2. How does a single charged plate affect the movement of charged particles?

A single charged plate will create an electric field around it, which will exert a force on any nearby charged particles. The direction and strength of this force will depend on the charge of the particle and the polarity of the charged plate.

3. What factors affect the movement of charged particles close to a single charged plate?

The movement of charged particles close to a single charged plate is affected by the charge and polarity of the plate, the charge and mass of the particle, and the distance between the particle and the plate.

4. Can charged particles move through a single charged plate?

No, charged particles cannot move through a single charged plate. The electric field created by the plate will either attract or repel the particle, causing it to move around the plate rather than through it.

5. What is the significance of studying charged particle movement close to single charged plates?

Studying charged particle movement close to single charged plates can help us understand the behavior of electric fields and how they can be manipulated. This knowledge is crucial in many areas of science and technology, such as electronics, energy production, and medical imaging.

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