Question

A thin, horizontal, 20-cm-diameter copper plate is charged to 4.0 nC . Assume that the electrons are uniformly distributed on the surface.What is the direction of the electric field 0.1 mm below the center of the bottom surface of the plate?

Answer 1

The electric field 0.1 mm below the center of the bottom surface of a charged copper plate with a positive charge of 4.0 nC will be directed away from the plate.

Step-by-step explanation:

The direction of the electric field 0.1 mm below the center of the bottom surface of the charged copper plate will be away from the plate if the charge on the plate is positive, and towards the plate if the charge is negative. Since the plate is charged with 4.0 nC, which is a positive charge, the electric field at the mentioned position will point away from the bottom surface of the plate. This follows from the basic principle that electric field lines emanate from positive charges and terminate at negative charges.