In: Physics
Electric charge can accumulate on an airplane in flight. You may have observed needle-shaped metal extensions on the wing tips and tail of an airplane. Their purpose is to allow charge to leak off before much of it accumulates. The electric field around the needle is much larger than the field around the body of the airplane and can become large enough to produce dielectric breakdown of the air, discharging the airplane. To model this process, assume that two charged spherical conductors are connected by a long conducting wire and a charge of 79.0 µC is placed on the combination. One sphere, representing the body of the airplane, has a radius of 6.00 m, and the other, representing the tip of the needle, has a radius of 2.00 cm.
(a) What is the electric potential of each sphere? r = 6.00 m: ]V
r = 2.00 cm: V
(b) What is the electric field at the surface of each sphere?
r = 6.00 m: magnitude____________ V/m? direction_________?
r = 2.00 cm: magnitude ____________ V/m? direction________?
Concept - since the two spheres are connected, the potential will be same for the both spheres. Also the sum of charges on the spheres will be equal to the total charge provided to the combination. We use these two conditions to find the charge on each sphere and use that to find the common potential of the spheres. Use the charge to find the electric field at each of the sphere’s surface as shown below
***********************************************************************************************
This concludes the answers. If there is any mistake or
omission, let me know immediately and I will fix
it....