Why Did I Misinterpret the Direction of E in Charged Particles?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the interpretation of electric field direction in the context of charged particles, specifically addressing the confusion regarding the direction of the electric field (E) created by positive and negative charges.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the principles of electric fields generated by charges, questioning the original poster's assumptions about the direction of E. Some participants suggest considering the contributions of both positive and negative charges in the region of interest.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing insights into the behavior of electric fields and encouraging the original poster to reflect on their understanding. There is a recognition of the need to clarify misconceptions about charge interactions.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that the original poster had not fully engaged with the relevant chapter prior to the discussion, which may have contributed to their misunderstanding of the concepts involved.

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The field of a negative charge points towards it and that of a positive charge points away from it. The field in region III is the sum of the fiels produced by both charge. Knowing how the field varies with charge magnitude and distance (coulomb law), what can you conclude about which field, btw that of the + charge and that of the - charge, dominates in region III? Show us some work.
 
quasar987 said:
The field of a negative charge points towards it and that of a positive charge points away from it. The field in region III is the sum of the fiels produced by both charge. Knowing how the field varies with charge magnitude and distance (coulomb law), what can you conclude about which field, btw that of the + charge and that of the - charge, dominates in region III? Show us some work.

After reading over the chapter I finally understand what that means. So it's pointing left. I think it's quite obvious from the drawing such that calculations are unecessary. Thanks for the help. I FINALLY understand what "The field of a negative charge points towards it and that of a positive charge points away from it" means. I'm just a little slow .

Thanks for the help :approve: .
 
hoseA said:
I thought the direction of E would be to the right. Apparently that's wrong... why?

Why did you think it would be to the right?
 
jtbell said:
Why did you think it would be to the right?
i assumed it would be to the right since i had a stupid preconception that protons move towards electrons and electrons were somehow fixed. For some reason I didn't consider the point p... rather just the two charges. Bottomline: i didn't have a good understanding since I didn't read the chapter 'til a few hrs. ago.
 

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