Question

How much work is required to set up the four-charge configuration of the figure if q=3.12 pC, a = 46.5 cm, and the particles are initially infinitely far and at rest? Number units The number of significant digits is set to 3; the tolerance is +/-2%

Answer 1

To calculate the work required to set up the four-charge configuration, calculate the potential energy of each charge and sum them up.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the work required to set up the four-charge configuration, we need to calculate the potential energy of each charge and then sum them up. The potential energy between two charges q1 and q2 separated by a distance r is given by the formula: U = k * (|q1 * q2|) / r, where k is the electrostatic constant. In this case, we have four charges, so we need to calculate the potential energy for each pair of charges and sum them up:

U_total = U1_2 + U1_3 + U1_4 + U2_3 + U2_4 + U3_4

Finally, the work required to set up the configuration is equal to the negative change in potential energy, so:

Work = -U_total