Question

In: Physics

Why will the resulting force lines of two positive point charges be like this:

Why will the resulting force lines of two positive point charges be like this:

Solutions

Expert Solution

First a comment about the following statements made by Kitchi and Wouter:

Lines of force always have to be smooth, there can't be a sharp bend in them like in your second diagram

and

The comment by @Kitchi basically says it all: lines of force should be continuous and differentiable and they should never intersect.

These statements are incorrect without qualification, and here are two reasons why:

The electric field lines of a point charge consist of rays all of whom intersect at the location of the point charge. Moreover, the field is not smooth at the location of the point charge (it is not even continuous there since there is a singularity).

There is a discontinuity in the electric field in passing through a surface charge with charge density ?, in fact the discontinuity is proportional to the surface charge density;

If you want to make some statement about smoothness of electric field lines, (which you should try to avoid calling "lines of force"), then you really need to make some other qualifications that exclude such cases.

Second, these smoothness justifications are, to some extent, missing the forest for the trees so to speak. The crux of the issue is really addressed by richard. The way one obtains the field due to a charge distribution is by invoking the principle of superposition. This immediately rules out the second diagram you drew because if you simply add the fields of the two point charges vectorially, then you will see that the field lines look like you draw them in the first diagram.


Related Solutions

3. a). Draw the electric field lines for two positive charges b). Explain why at the...
3. a). Draw the electric field lines for two positive charges b). Explain why at the middle electric field is Zero. c) If there is a third charge placed at the middle position, does the third charge experience any force?
In the figure, which best represents the field lines due to two point charges with opposite charges?
In the figure, which best represents the field lines due to two point charges with opposite charges?
Two positive point charges are held fixed on the x-axis. Point charge A is located at...
Two positive point charges are held fixed on the x-axis. Point charge A is located at the origin, and point charge B is located at the position x = −5.00 cm = −5.00✕10-2 m (on the negative x-axis). The magnitude of charge A is two times greater than that of charge B: qA = 2qB. ke = 8.9876✕109 Nm2/C2 (A.) The electric force on charge A has magnitude 0.344 mN = 0.344⨯10-3 N. What is the electric force (magnitude and...
Three point charges have equal magnitudes, two being positive and one negative. These charges are fixed...
Three point charges have equal magnitudes, two being positive and one negative. These charges are fixed to the corners of an equilateral triangle, as the drawing shows. The magnitude of each of the charges is 3.5 μC, and the lengths of the sides of the triangle are 2.0 cm. Calculate the magnitude of the net force that each charge experiences.
Two point charges are fixed in place. The positive charge is +2q and the negative charge...
Two point charges are fixed in place. The positive charge is +2q and the negative charge is –q. On the line that passes through the charges, how many places are there at which the total potential is zero?
Two positive point charges q1 = 6.0nC and q2 = 9.0nC are separated in a vacuum...
Two positive point charges q1 = 6.0nC and q2 = 9.0nC are separated in a vacuum by a distance of 5.36m. The spot on the line between the charges measured from the charge q1 where the net electric field is zero is
Two point charges, -62.5 microcoulombs (placed on the left side of the positive charge) and +12.5...
Two point charges, -62.5 microcoulombs (placed on the left side of the positive charge) and +12.5 microcoulombs, fixed on the x-axis, are seperated by a distance of 25.0 cm from each other. At what points along the x-axis is the electric potential equal to zero? (A well-labeled sketch showing these points is required Find the voltage at a point on the x-axis, 15.0 cm to the left of the negative charge.
(a) Two point charges totaling 7.50 µC exert a repulsive force of 0.150 N on one...
(a) Two point charges totaling 7.50 µC exert a repulsive force of 0.150 N on one another when separated by 0.812 m. What is the charge (in µC) on each? smallest charge in µC largest charge in µC (b) What is the charge (in µC) on each if the force is attractive? smallest charge in µC largest charge in µC
Set up 4 different configurations of charges: two opposite charges, two lines of opposite charges, one...
Set up 4 different configurations of charges: two opposite charges, two lines of opposite charges, one cluster of charges and a line of charges, and one configuration of your choice. For each configuration do the following: a) Sketch on a separate piece of paper the configuration. Use the whole page. b) Sketch out at least 10 different equipotential lines by using the voltage probe. (label them) c) Sketch out at least 10 different electric field lines. (crossing at right angles...
A)Two point charges totaling 8.00 µC exert a repulsive force of 0.100 N on one another...
A)Two point charges totaling 8.00 µC exert a repulsive force of 0.100 N on one another when separated by 0.857 m. What is the charge (in µC) on each? Smallest/Largest? B)What is the charge (in µC) on each if the force is attractive? Largest/Smallest?
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT