Electric Potential/Work Question

[APerdigon]

Homework Statement

Work is required to push a solitary electron into an electric field where it attains an electric potential of 1 volt.

a.) If you instead push 2 electrons through the same path, what would the electric potential of the two electrons be? b.) What would the work required to move the electrons be?

Homework Equations

I'm not sure, but I think W = qV may be an equation.

The Attempt at a Solution

I am guessing that is it's 2 volts for a.) and 2 electronvolts for b.), but I could be wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated... this is very confusing to me. =( Thanks!

 

[LowlyPion]

Welcome to PF.

If you are pushing something in the field, then 1e or 2e, they will experience then the same ΔV if the statement of the problem is that they are being taken over the same path. 1v then would be the potential at the point that 1 or 2 electrons would be brought.

As you noted though the ΔV*q is the work, so yes you would have imparted 2 ev to the charges (taken together).

 

[nlightner]

I can confirm that W = qV is indeed the correct equation to use in this scenario. In order to solve for the electric potential of two electrons, we need to consider the fact that electric potential is a scalar quantity and therefore follows the principle of superposition. This means that the potential of multiple charges can be calculated by simply adding their individual potentials.

In this case, since we are pushing two electrons through the same path, the electric potential of the two electrons would be twice that of a single electron, so it would be 2 volts.

As for the work required to move the electrons, we can use the same equation W = qV. Since the charge of two electrons is double that of a single electron, the work required would also be double. Therefore, it would be 2 electronvolts.

I hope this helps clarify any confusion. Remember to always use the correct equations and consider the principles of superposition when dealing with multiple charges in an electric field.