Question

Consider an equilateral triangle with sides of lengths 3.6 µm and charge −0.2 µc, 1.9 µc and 1.2 µc located at the corners of the triangle. find the minimum work required to move the first point charge to infinity.

Answer 1

The minimum work required to move the first point charge to infinity can be found by considering each step in the process.

Step-by-step explanation:

The minimum work required to move the first point charge to infinity can be found by considering each step in the process. The first step is to bring the +2.0-µC charge to the origin, which requires no work since there are no other charges at a finite distance yet. The second step is to bring the +3.0-µC charge to a specific location, which requires work against the force exerted by the +2.0-µC charge. This work can be calculated using the change in potential energy of the +3.0-µC charge. The third and final step is to bring the +4.0-µC charge to a specific location, while keeping the other charges fixed. This also requires work against the forces exerted by the other charges.