Question

What is the electrostatic potential energy (in joules) between an electron and a proton that are separated by 54 pm?

Answer 1

The formula for calculating the electrostatic potential is given as:

U = (1/4πε0) (qp * qe/r)

where the variables are:

ε0 = permittivity of space = 8.854187817620 × 10^−12  A^2⋅s^4⋅kg−1⋅m−3

qp = charge of proton = 1.60217662 × 10-19 coulombs

qe = charge of electron = -1.60217662 × 10-19 coulombs

r = distance between the two = 54 pm = 5.4 × 10−11 m

 

So calculating for potential energy U:

U = (1/(4π*8.854187817620)) (1.60217662 × 10-19 * -1.60217662 × 10-19 / 5.4 × 10−11)

U = 5.33 x 10^-11 J