What is the magnitude of the force that each sphere experiences? Determine the magnitude of the force that each sphere now experiences.

Question

Two tiny conducting spheres are identical and carry charges of -17.0 μC and +60.4 μC. They are separated by a distance of 3.37 cm. (a) What is the magnitude of the force that each sphere experiences? (b) The spheres are brought into contact and then separated to a distance of 3.37 cm. Determine the magnitude of the force that each sphere now experiences.

Answer 1

Plug into Coulomb's law with the appropriate units: F = k_eQ₁Q₂/d²

F = 8.99 x 10⁹Nm²/C²)(-17 x 10^-6C)(60.4 x 10^-6 C)/(0.0337 m)² for F in Newtons

For part b), since they are identical spheres, the charge will spread evenly so that each sphere will have (60.4 + (-17))/2 microcoulombs

Use the same formula with the new charges.