Final answer:
To find the total stored potential energy of a system of three point charges, calculate the potential energy between each pair of charges using Coulomb's law and sum the results.
Step-by-step explanation:
The potential energy (PE) of a system of point charges is the energy due to their positions relative to each other. To find total stored potential energy of this configuration, we must calculate the potential energy between each pair of charges and sum these energies. The equation to find the potential energy between two point charges is given by:
PE = k * q1 * q2 / r
Where:
- k is Coulomb's constant (8.99 x 109 N m2/C2)
- q1 and q2 are the amounts of each charge
- r is the distance between the charges
The potential energy between the three charges is calculated by adding together the potential energy between each pair (q1 and q2, q1 and q3, and q2 and q3). Make sure to convert the distances to meters to match the units of Coulomb's constant.
Let's calculate each pair's potential energy:
- PE between q1 and q2: PE12 = k * q1 * q2 / r12
- PE between q1 and q3: PE13 = k * q1 * q3 / r13
- PE between q2 and q3: PE23 = k * q2 * q3 / r23
Finally, add the three potential energies to get the total potential energy of the system.