Calculating the Radius of a Charged Spherical Water Drop

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the radius of a charged spherical water drop based on its surface potential and charge. The context includes electrostatics and the relationship between charge, potential, and radius of a sphere.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the radius using the provided equation for potential but questions the correctness of their result. Some participants suggest a possible typo in the charge value, while others discuss the implications of such a mistake on the calculations.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring the implications of a potential typo in the charge value. There is a mix of light-hearted commentary and serious inquiry regarding the calculations, indicating a collaborative atmosphere without a clear consensus on the initial problem setup.

Contextual Notes

Participants are considering the possibility of a printing mistake in the textbook and are verifying the charge value used in the calculations. The discussion reflects uncertainty about the initial conditions provided in the problem statement.

gracy
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Homework Statement


A spherical drop of water carrying a charge of 3×10^-19 has a potential of 500V at its surface (with V=0 at infinity) (a) What is the radius of the drop? If two such drops of the same charge and radius combined to form a single drop, what is the potential at the surface of the new drop

Homework Equations


##V##=##\frac{q}{4πε0r}##

The Attempt at a Solution


Here q=3×10^-19 C and V=500 volts.
##r##=##\frac{3×10^-19×9×10^9}{500}##
=##\frac{27×10^-10}{5×10^2}##
=##\frac{27×10^-10×10^-2}{5}##
=##\frac{27×10^-12}{5}##
=5.4×10^-12
but the answer for r is wrong it should be r=0.54cm.What went wrong .
 
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Typo (or hasty reading :rolleyes:) : 3 x 10 -19 should have been 3 x 10 -9.

For comparison: 1 single electron has a charge -1.60217662 × 10-19 Coulomb
 
Your rolling eyes!
BvU said:
Typo (or hasty reading
Neither of them.Actually it is
:
:
:
:
:
:
Printing mistake in the textbook.:smile:
 
That's what we call a typo :biggrin: . The printer prints what has been typeset
 
BvU said:
Typo (or hasty reading
gracy said:
in the textbook
I just wanted to make sure that's not my mistake :rolleyes:
 
Part (b) is going OK ?
 
BvU said:
Part (b) is going OK ?
Yes!:smile:
seriously, loved the way you paid attention to my all the threads today.
 

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