Electric flux through a multihedral face

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the electric flux through one face of a regular tetrahedron that encloses a charge of 0.920 C. The subject area involves concepts from electrostatics, specifically Gauss's law and electric flux.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the total electric flux through the tetrahedron's surface and how to determine the fraction that passes through one face. There are questions about the meaning of terms such as "regular tetrahedron" and the symbol Eo, which is identified as the permittivity of free space.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided clarifications regarding the formula for electric flux and the significance of Eo. There is an ongoing exploration of how to apply the formula to find the flux through a single face of the tetrahedron, but no consensus has been reached on the final calculation.

Contextual Notes

Participants express confusion about the definitions and values needed for the calculations, particularly regarding the permittivity of free space and the setup of the problem. There is an acknowledgment of missing information from educational resources.

JJones_86
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Homework Statement


An object with a charge of 0.920 C is placed at the center of a regular tetrahedron with 4 equivalent surfaces. What is the electric flux through one surface of the tetrahedron?


Homework Equations


For an n-sided polygon

Electric Flux = Charge / (n)(Eo)


The Attempt at a Solution



No idea, I am lost on this one...
 
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Think of the tetrahedron surface enclosing the charge. You can easily calculate the total flux through the whole surface using your formula.

Now, what fraction of that will go through one face of the tetrahedron? Note: be sure you know what a "regular" tetrahedron is.
 
Delphi51 said:
Think of the tetrahedron surface enclosing the charge. You can easily calculate the total flux through the whole surface using your formula.

Now, what fraction of that will go through one face of the tetrahedron? Note: be sure you know what a "regular" tetrahedron is.

I'm just lost on what Eo is?
 
Eo in Gauss' law is supposed to be written epsilon sub zero, the permittivity of free space.
It is 8.85 x 10^-12 farad/meter.
Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_constant
They have other names for it and several variations on the units that could be useful to you here.
 
Delphi51 said:
Eo in Gauss' law is supposed to be written epsilon sub zero, the permittivity of free space.
It is 8.85 x 10^-12 farad/meter.
Check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_constant
They have other names for it and several variations on the units that could be useful to you here.

Hey thanks man, my professor failed to tell us that and its not in this useless pc textbook. I appreciate it!
 
so should it be 0.92C/4(8.85x10^-12) = 2.59887e10?
 

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