Solving Electrostatics Problems: Contact of Neutral & Charged Spheres

[apnut821]

Hi, i have been assigned a series of problems that basically follow the same pattern, but I am unable to solve the first one which is making it difficult to solve the others.

here it is

An insulated metal sphere (X), that has no net charge (neutral), is brought into contact with a similar sphere (Y) that has a charge of +1.80 E -16 C. The two spheres are the separated. a) What is the total charge of the system before and after separation? b) What are the charges of spheres X and Y after seperation?

thanks

 

[Nate810]

!a) Before separation, the total charge of the system is 0 C. After separation, the total charge of the system is +1.80 E -16 C. b) After separation, sphere X has a charge of 0 C and sphere Y has a charge of +1.80 E -16 C.

 

[Moetasim]

Hello,

Solving electrostatics problems can be challenging, but with some practice and understanding of the basic principles, you can successfully solve these types of problems.

In this particular problem, we are dealing with the contact of a neutral sphere (X) and a charged sphere (Y). Before we can solve the problem, we need to understand some key concepts. First, when two objects come into contact, they can transfer charge between them. This is known as charging by contact. Second, charge is always conserved, meaning that the total charge before and after the interaction will remain the same.

Now, let's look at the specific questions in this problem. For part (a), we need to determine the total charge of the system before and after separation. Before separation, the total charge is simply the charge of sphere Y, which is +1.80 E -16 C. After separation, since the spheres are no longer in contact, they will have their own independent charges. Therefore, the total charge of the system after separation will be the sum of the charges of sphere X and Y. Keep in mind that the total charge must still equal +1.80 E -16 C, as charge is conserved.

For part (b), we need to find the charges of spheres X and Y after separation. Since the spheres are no longer in contact, we can treat them as two separate systems. Sphere X, which was initially neutral, will now have a charge due to the transfer of charge from sphere Y. To find the charge of sphere X, we can apply the principle of charge conservation and set the total charge of the system to be equal to the charge of sphere X. This will allow us to solve for the charge of sphere X.

For sphere Y, we know that it initially had a charge of +1.80 E -16 C and that it transferred some of this charge to sphere X. Therefore, the remaining charge on sphere Y will be the initial charge minus the charge transferred to sphere X.

I hope this explanation helps you understand the problem better and gives you a starting point to solve it. Remember to always apply the principles of charge conservation and charging by contact when solving electrostatics problems. Good luck!