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Robin04
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A charged and an uncharged particle collide. What will be their charges after the collision? The average of the total charge?
If the total charge is conserved, that only means that the total charge in the system is the same before and after the collision. But it doesn't say anything about its distribution.anorlunda said:If total charge is conserved, what do you think the answer is?
Robin04 said:But it doesn't say anything about its distribution.
I was a bit careless. The objects are not particles in general, but they are metal balls.anorlunda said:Good. That's true. But when things collide they might share their charge or keep them separate. There is no universal answer to your question. It depends on what the objects are.
Robin04 said:I was a bit careless.
The objects are not particles in general, but they are metal balls.
Same size. They are completely identical, the difference is just their charge.ZapperZ said:Are they of the same size? Different?
The average cannot be because of charge conservation, already said. If you also intended to ask how the totale charge is shared into the final particles, theni t depends on a lot of different cases, for example: the first particle's charge is +1e (or -1e) ?Robin04 said:A charged and an uncharged particle collide. What will be their charges after the collision? The average of the total charge?
Robin04 said:Same size. They are completely identical, the difference is just their charge.
You made quite a mess: "particles" and then metal balls, "average charge": if you have two equal metal balls, why you didn't simply say "half of total charge on every ball"?Robin04 said:I was a bit careless. The objects are not particles in general, but they are metal balls.
Yes, it made sense to me too, but this is part of a problem of a competition at my university and I was suspicious that it is too simple. Thank you for your help.lightarrow said:You made quite a mess: "particles" and then metal balls, "average charge": if you have two equal metal balls, why you didn't simply say "half of total charge on every ball"?
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lightarrow
If the resulting two balls have different diameters then their relative capacitances would make the sharing unequal. The capacitance of a sphere is proportional to its Radius so the charges would be distributed proportionally to their radii. If one ball were twice the radius of the other, the original charge would be shared in the ratio 2:1lightarrow said:You made quite a mess: "particles" and then metal balls, "average charge": if you have two equal metal balls, why you didn't simply say "half of total charge on every ball"?
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lightarrow
Sure. But in post #8 the OP stated "Same size. They are completely identical, the difference is just their charge."sophiecentaur said:If the resulting two balls have different diameters then their relative capacitances would make the sharing unequal. The capacitance of a sphere is proportional to its Radius so the charges would be distributed proportionally to their radii. If one ball were twice the radius of the other, the original charge would be shared in the ratio 2:1
Yes, that's right but the more general case is of interest and the result is pretty simple.lightarrow said:Sure. But in post #8 the OP stated "Same size. They are completely identical, the difference is just their charge."
Bye!
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lightarrow
When a charged particle collides with an uncharged particle, there are a few possible outcomes depending on the specific circumstances. If the charged particle is moving at a high enough speed, it may transfer some of its charge to the uncharged particle, causing it to become charged as well. Alternatively, the charged particle may simply bounce off of the uncharged particle without any significant interaction.
The charges of the particles involved in a collision play a significant role in determining the outcome. If both particles have the same charge, they will repel each other and likely not collide at all. If one particle is positively charged and the other is negatively charged, they will be attracted to each other and may collide. The relative strength of the charges also affects the force of the collision.
The trajectory of particles after a collision is influenced by several factors, including their masses, speeds, and charges. The angle at which they collide and any external forces present also play a role. Additionally, the type of interaction between the particles (e.g. elastic or inelastic) can affect their trajectories.
In certain collisions, the energy of the particles involved may be high enough to cause a transformation or decay, resulting in the production of new particles. This is commonly seen in particle accelerators, where charged particles are collided at extremely high speeds to create new particles for study.
Studying collisions between charged and uncharged particles is crucial for understanding the fundamental principles of physics. These collisions can provide insights into the behavior of matter, the nature of forces and interactions, and the properties of particles. They also have practical applications in fields such as particle physics, nuclear energy, and medical imaging.