Question

You break a piece of Styro foam packing material, and it releases lots of little spheres whose electric charge makes them stick annoyingly to you. If two of the spheres carry equal charges and repel with a force of 22 { mN} when they're 16 { mm} apart, what's the magnitude of the charge on each?

Answer 1

Answer:

The magnitude of charge on each sphere is $q=2.50\times 10^{-8}\ C$.

Explanation:

Given that,

Force of repulsion between the charges, F = 22 mN

The distance between spheres, r = 16 mm = 0.016 m

It is mentioned that both the spheres carry equal charges. The force between charges is given by :

$F=\dfrac{kq^2}{r^2}$

$q=\sqrt{\dfrac{Fr^2}{k}}$

$q=\sqrt{\dfrac{22\times 10^{-3}\times (0.016)^2}{9\times 10^9}}$

$q=2.50\times 10^{-8}\ C$

So, the magnitude of charge on each sphere is $q=2.50\times 10^{-8}\ C$. Hence, this is the required solution.