Charge of a segment of an infintely long wire

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the charge on a 1.0-cm-long segment of an infinitely long charged wire, given an electric field of 1900 N/C at a distance of 5.70 cm from the wire. The relevant formula used is E_line = (1/4*pi*epsilon) * (2*lambda/r), where lambda represents charge per unit length (Q/L). A participant initially miscalculated the charge due to potential errors in unit conversion or arithmetic, but was reassured that the values for distance and length were correct.

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Linus Pauling
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1. The electric field 5.70 cm from a very long charged wire is ( 1900 N/C,toward the wire). What is the charge (in nC) on a 1.0-cm-long segment of the wire?



2. E_line = (1/4*pi*epsilon) * (2*lambda/r), lambda = Q/L



3. Using the above equation, I solved for Q using r = 5.7 cm and L = 1 cm, and got an answer several orders of magnitude off. I assume I am using incorrect r and L values. What, exactly, am I doing wrong?
 
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You're using the right values. I'm guessing you made a calculation error or a unit conversion error.
 

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