Charged Ball on String: Tension and Vertical Movement Explained

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the mechanics of a charged ball suspended by a string, influenced by an external charged rod. The horizontal component of the tension in the string is equal to the electric force exerted by the charged rod, while the vertical component of the tension equals the gravitational force (mg). The angle θ formed with the vertical can be calculated using the formula θ = tan-1(Felec/Fmg), establishing a clear relationship between the forces involved.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic electrostatics, specifically electric forces.
  • Knowledge of Newton's laws of motion, particularly tension in strings.
  • Familiarity with trigonometric functions, especially tangent and inverse tangent.
  • Concept of gravitational force and its calculation (mg).
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the principles of electrostatics, focusing on Coulomb's Law.
  • Explore the concept of tension in strings and its applications in physics.
  • Learn about vector decomposition in physics to analyze forces in different directions.
  • Investigate the relationship between angles and forces in static equilibrium scenarios.
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Physics students, educators, and anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of charged objects and their interactions through tension and angles.

bodensee9
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Hello:

Suppose that I have a charged ball hanging on a string. Then I placed a charged rod next to the ball and caused my string to make an angle with the vertical. Then, the tension in the string in the horizontal component would be equal to the force from the charged rod, no? That's the only force that's causing the string to move with respect to the vertical. Then my tension in the vertical component = mg.

Thanks.
 
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bodensee9 said:
Hello:

Suppose that I have a charged ball hanging on a string. Then I placed a charged rod next to the ball and caused my string to make an angle with the vertical. Then, the tension in the string in the horizontal component would be equal to the force from the charged rod, no? That's the only force that's causing the string to move with respect to the vertical. Then my tension in the vertical component = mg.

Thanks.

Sounds OK.

And the angle it makes θ, is the tan-1(Felec/Fmg)
 

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