- #1
rocomath
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Two identical conducting spheres, fixed in place, attract each other with an electrostatic force of 0.108 N when separated by 50.0 cm, center-to-center. The spheres are then connected by a thin conducting wire. When the wire is removed, the spheres repel each other with an electrostatic force of 0.0360 N. What were the intial charges on the spheres?
[tex]F_1=\frac{k\cdot q_1 q_2}{r^2}[/tex]
[tex]F_2=\frac{k\cdot (q_1 +q_2)}{r^2}[/tex]
Is my approach for situation 2 correct, since they are connected by a wire. I eventually set them equal to each other, I'm stuck on solving for one of the charges. Just a hint please, appreciate it.
edit: Hmm, re-reading it over, it tells me that [tex]q_1=q_2[/tex]?
If [tex]q_1=q_2[/tex], then my equation reduces to a quadratic.
[tex]F_1=\frac{k\cdot q^2}{r^2}[/tex]
[tex]F_2=\frac{k\cdot 2q}{r^2}[/tex]
[tex]F_1=\frac{k\cdot q_1 q_2}{r^2}[/tex]
[tex]F_2=\frac{k\cdot (q_1 +q_2)}{r^2}[/tex]
Is my approach for situation 2 correct, since they are connected by a wire. I eventually set them equal to each other, I'm stuck on solving for one of the charges. Just a hint please, appreciate it.
edit: Hmm, re-reading it over, it tells me that [tex]q_1=q_2[/tex]?
If [tex]q_1=q_2[/tex], then my equation reduces to a quadratic.
[tex]F_1=\frac{k\cdot q^2}{r^2}[/tex]
[tex]F_2=\frac{k\cdot 2q}{r^2}[/tex]
Last edited: