Question

1) Consider an electric power transmission line that carries a constant electric current of i = 500 A. The cylindrical copper cable used to transmit this current has a diameter o = 2.00 cm and a length L = 150 km. If there are 8.43x10^28 free electrons per cubic meter (m^3 ) in the cable, calculate how long it would take for an electron to cross the entire length of the transmitter line.

Answer 1

Answer:  

t = 1.27 x 10⁹ s  

Explanation:  

First, we will find the volume of the wire:

Volume = V = AL  

where,  

A = Cross-sectional area of wire = πr² = π(1 cm)² = π(0.01 m)² = 3.14 x 10⁻⁴ m²  

L = Length of wire = 150 km = 150000 m  

Therefore,    

V = 47.12 m³

 

Now, we will find the number of electrons in the wire:  

No. of electrons = n = (Electrons per unit Volume)(V)  

n = (8.43 x 10²⁸ electrons/m³)(47.12 m³)  

n = 3.97 x 10³⁰ electrons  

Now, we will use the formula of current to find out the time taken by each electron to cross the wire:

$I =\frac{q}{t}$  

where,  

t = time = ?  

I = current = 500 A  

q = total charge = (n)(chareg on one electron)  

q = (3.97 x 10³⁰ electrons)(1.6 x 10⁻¹⁹ C/electron)  

q = 6.36 x 10¹¹ C  

$500\ A = \frac{6.36\ x\ 10^{11}\ C}{t}\\\\t = \frac{6.36\ x\ 10^{11}\ C}{500\ A}$

Therefore,

t = 1.27 x 10⁹ s