Calculating Charge in Equilibrium for an Electrostatics Problem

In summary, electrostatics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of stationary electric charges and the forces between them. An electrostatics problem involves the analysis of electric charges and their interactions, using principles and laws of electrostatics. Coulomb's Law is a fundamental law that describes the force between two electric charges, stating that the force is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The electric field of a point charge can be calculated by dividing the magnitude of the charge by the square of the distance from the charge to the point where the electric field is being measured. An equipotential surface is a surface where every point has the same electric potential, meaning no
  • #1
Linus Pauling
190
0
1. q_2 is in static equilibrium. What is q_1?

There's a particle with a charge of -3.0nC between q_1 and q_2, 10cm from each.




2. F = |q1||q2|*K/(r^2)


3. I know the answer is 12 nC but I don't see how to get it. I figured you had to approach the problem using the above equation, knowing that q1 must equal q2 and the forces each exerts on the central particle are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign...
 
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  • #2
Assume Q2 fixed.
For equilibrium,
k*Q2*Q3/d^2 = k*Q2*Q1/(2d)^2.
Now solve for Q1.
 

1. What is electrostatics?

Electrostatics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of stationary electric charges and the forces between them.

2. What is an electrostatics problem?

An electrostatics problem is a physics problem that involves the analysis of electric charges and their interactions, using principles and laws of electrostatics.

3. What is Coulomb's Law?

Coulomb's Law is a fundamental law of electrostatics that describes the force between two electric charges. It states that the force is directly proportional to the product of the two charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

4. How do you calculate the electric field of a point charge?

The electric field of a point charge can be calculated by dividing the magnitude of the charge by the square of the distance from the charge to the point where the electric field is being measured.

5. What is an equipotential surface?

An equipotential surface is a surface in which every point has the same electric potential. This means that no work is required to move a charge along this surface.

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