captain.joco said:It seemed too simple somehow... Is q the induced charge on the sphere, and E the electric field close to the sphere??
Thank you for your help
The force on a sphere in a constant external electric field is a vector quantity that represents the strength and direction of the force exerted on the sphere by the electric field. It is given by the equation F = qE, where q is the charge of the sphere and E is the magnitude of the electric field.
The direction of the force on a sphere in a constant external electric field is determined by the direction of the electric field and the charge of the sphere. If the charge and electric field are in the same direction, the force will be in the same direction. If they are in opposite directions, the force will be in the opposite direction.
The size of the charge on the sphere directly affects the magnitude of the force. The larger the charge, the greater the force will be. However, the direction of the force will still depend on the direction of the electric field.
Yes, the force on a sphere in a constant external electric field is affected by the size of the sphere. This is because the charge on the sphere is spread out over its surface, so a larger sphere will have a larger surface area and therefore a greater amount of charge. This results in a larger force being exerted on the larger sphere.
Yes, the force on a sphere in a constant external electric field can be negative. This occurs when the charge of the sphere is opposite in sign to the direction of the electric field. In this case, the force will be in the opposite direction of the electric field, resulting in a negative force value.