Question

(a) What is the electric field 4.00 m from the center of the terminal of a Van de Graaff with a 3.00 mC charge, noting that the field is equivalent to that of a point charge at the center of the terminal?

______ N/C
(b) At this distance, what force does the field exert on a 2.00C charge on the Van de Graaff's belt?
_____ N

Answer 1

a) E = 1.69 10⁶6 N / C, b) F = 3.38 10⁶ N

Step-by-step explanation:

a) In this exercise using Gauss's law we can consider the charge of the generator sphere as if it were at its center, therefore the electric field is

E = k
`(q)/(r^2)`

let's calculate

E = 9 10⁹ 3.00 10⁻³ / 4²2

E = 1.6875 10⁶ N / C

E = 1.69 10⁶6 N / C

b) let's calculate the electric force

F = q E

F = 2.00 1.69 10⁶

F = 3.38 10⁶ N