University Physics II

PHYS 212

Lecture 2

January 22, 2021 University Physics II 1

 Electric Force - Coulomb’s Law
• Consider two electric charges:
q1 and q2
• The electric force F between
these two charges separated by kq1q2
a distance r is given by F 2
Coulomb’s Law r

• The constant k is called 9 2 2

Coulomb’s constant and is given k  8.99  10 Nm /C
by

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 2

 Coulomb’s Law (2)
• The coulomb constant is also written as
2
1 12 C
k where  0  8.85  10
4  0 Nm 2

• 0 is the
“electric permittivity of vacuum”
– A fundamental constant of nature
1 q1q 2
F
4 0 r 2

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 3

Example: Force between two charges
 What is the force between two 1 C charges 1 meter
apart?
1 q1q 2
F
4 0 r 2

 9 N  m  1 C 1 C
2
F   8.99 10   8.99  10 9
N
 C  1 m 
2 2

which is the weight of 450 Space Shuttles at launch

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 4

 Electric Force
• The electric force is given by

q1q2
• The electric force, unlike the
gravitational force, can be positive or F k 2
negative r
– If the charges have opposite
signs, the force is negative + -
• Attractive
– If the charges have the same + +
sign, the force is positive
- -
• Repulsive

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 5

 Electric Force Vector
Electric force in vector form

q1   
r r  r2  r1
y
r1   
q2 r r2  r1
r2 rˆ  
x r r

 q1q2  q1q2
F12  k 2 rˆ F21  k 2  rˆ 
r r

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 6

 Superposition Principle
• The net force acting on any charge is the
vector sum of the forces due to the remaining charges in
the distribution.

   
F1,net  F1,2  F1,3    F1,n
F1x  F1,2, x  F1,3,x  ...  F1,n ,x

F1y  F1,2, y  F1,3, y  ...  F1,n , y

F1z  F1,2,z  F1,3, z  ...  F1,n ,z

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 7

 Example - The Helium Nucleus
 The nucleus of a helium atom has two protons and two
neutrons. What is the magnitude of the electric force
between the two protons in the helium nucleus?

The distance between the two protons is approximately 2.0 10 -15 m
Each proton has charge q  1.602 10 19 C
The force is given by
q1q2
F k
r2
 
2
19
 9 N m
 1.602 10 C
2
  8.99 10   58 N
 
2 2
 C  2.0 10 m 15

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 8

 Example - The Helium Nucleus (2)
• What if the distance r between the protons is
doubled?
q1q2 q1q2 q1q2
F2r  k 2  k with Fr  k 2
2r  4r 2
r 
1
F2r  Fr
4

Inverse square law: If the distance is doubled then the

force is reduced by a factor of 4.

1
F2r  58 N   14.5 N
4
January 22, 2021 University Physics III 9
 Quiz: Equilibrium position
• Consider two charges located on the x axis

x1 x2
A B C

• The charges are described by

– q1 = 0.15 C x1 = 0.0 m
– q2 = 0.35 C x2 = 0.40 m
• Where do we need to put a third charge for that
charge to be at an equilibrium point?

• A: to the left of charge 1

• B: in the middle between the two charges
• C: to the right of charge 2
January 22, 2021 University Physics III 10
 Quiz: Equilibrium position (2)
x1 x2

• A: x3<x1
– Here the forces from q1 and q2 will always point in the
same direction (to the left for a positive test charge)
• No equilibrium
• C: x2<x3
– Here the forces from q1 and q2 will always point in the
same direction (to the right for a positive test charge)
• No equilibrium

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 11

 Quiz: Equilibrium position (3)
x1 x2

q3

• B: x1 < x3 < x2
– Here the forces from q1 and q2 can balance
q1q3 q3 q2
k  k
( x3  x1 ) 2 ( x2  x3 ) 2
q1 q2
 
(x3  x1 )2 (x2  x3 )2
q1 (x2  x3 )2  q2 (x3  x1 )2  q1 x2  q2 x1 0.15 C  (0.4 m)
x3    0.16 m
q1 (x2  x3 )  q2 (x3  x1 )  q1  q2 0.15 C  0.35 C
q1 x2  q2 x1
x3 
q1  q2

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 12

 Example - Charged Balls
• Consider two identical charged balls hanging from the
ceiling by strings of equal length ℓ = 1.5 m (in
equilibrium). Each ball has a charge of 25 C. The balls
hang at an angle  = 25 with respect to the vertical.
What is the mass of the balls?

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 13

 Problem solving strategy
• Research has shown that experts in all fields use similar
problem solving strategies
1. THINK
Read the problem carefully. Ask yourself what quantities are known, what quantities
might be useful but are unknown, and what quantities are asked for in the
solution.
2. SKETCH
Make a sketch of the physical situation to help you visualize the problem.
3. RESEARCH
Write down the physical principles or laws that apply to this problem. Use equations
representing these principles that connect the known and unknown quantities to
each other.
4. SIMPLIFY
Do not plug in numbers yet! Instead, simplify your result algebraically as much as
possible.
5. CALCULATE
Put in the numbers with units and calculate your answer.
6. ROUND
Look at the number of significant figures that you want to quote for your result.
7. DOUBLE-CHECK
Step back and look at the result. Judge for yourself if the answer (both the number
and the units) seems realistic.
January 22, 2021 University Physics III 14
 Example - Charged Balls
• Consider two identical charged balls hanging from the
ceiling by strings of equal length ℓ = 1.5 m (in
equilibrium). Each ball has a charge of 25 C. The balls
hang at an angle  = 25 with respect to the vertical.
What is the mass of the balls?

 Think
 Three forces act on each ball:
• Coulomb force Fc, gravity Fg, and the tension of the string T
 The coulomb force is horizontal and must be repulsive to keep the
balls apart
 The gravitational force points down
 The tension T is in the direction of the string
 The balls are in equilibrium, which means the three forces are
balanced

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 15

 Example - Charged Balls (2)
• Sketch
• Add the three forces to the drawing
• Define distance d between the balls
• Make a separate free body diagram for one of the charged
balls
• Define x-y coordinate system

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 16

 Example - Charged Balls (3)
• Research
• The condition of static equilibrium tells us
that the sum of the x-components of the
three forces acting on the ball must equal
zero and the sum of y-components of these
forces must equal zero
• The sum of the x-components of the forces is

T sin   Fc  0
– T is magnitude of the string tension
–  is the angle of the string relative to the vertical
– FC is the magnitude of the Coulomb force
• The sum of the y-components of the forces is

T cos  Fg  0
• The force of gravity, Fg, is just the weight of the charged ball

Fg  mg
– m is the mass of the charged ball

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 17

 Example - Charged Balls (4)
• The electric force between the two balls is
q2
Fc  k 2
d
– d is the distance between the two balls

• We can express d in terms of ℓ and 

d /2
sin  
 l
• We can then rewrite the electric force in
terms of θ and ℓ

q2 q2
Fc  k k
2l sin  4l 2 sin 2 
2

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 18

 Example - Charged Balls (5)
• Simplify
• We divide the two free-body force equations containing the
string tension
T sin   Fc
T cos   Fg
• Thus we eliminate the string tension and get
Fc
tan  
Fg
• Putting in our expressions for the force of gravity and the
electric force, we get
q2
k
4l sin  
2 2 kq 2
tan  
 mg 4 mg l 2 sin 2 
• Solving for m we get
kq 2
m
 4 g l 2
sin 2
 tan 
January 22, 2021 University Physics III 19
 Example - Charged Balls (6)
• Calculate
• Putting in our numerical values we obtain

m
8.99 10 N  m /C 25.0 C 
9 2 2 2

 0.764116 kg
4  9.81 m/s 1.50 m  sin 25.0 tan 25.0 
2 2 2

• Round
• We report our result to three significant figures
m  0.764 kg
• Double-check
• To double-check our answer, we make the
approximation that sintan and cos1 so that
Tmg and the x-components of the forces are
q2 q2
T sin   mg  Fc  k 2  k
2l  
2
d

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 20
 Example - Charged Balls (7)
• The mass of the ball in our double-check is then

m
kq

2

8.99 10 N  m /C 25.0 C 
9 2 2
 2

 0.768 kg

4 gl 
2 3
 
4  9.81 m/s 2 1.50 m  0.436 rad 
2 3

• Which is close to our answer

m  0.764 kg

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 21

 Example - Forces between Electrons
• What is relative strength of the electric force compared with
the force of gravity for two electrons?

qe2
Felectric  k 2
r Felectric kqe2 (8.99 10 9 N  m 2 / C2 )(1.602 10 19 C)2
   4.2 10 42

me2 Fgravity Gme2 (6.67 10-11 N  m 2 /kg 2 )(9.109 10-31 kg)2

Fgravity  G 2
r

• Gravity is irrelevant for atomic and subatomic processes – the

electric force is much much stronger.
• But sometimes gravity is most important; e.g, the motion of
the planets.
Why?

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 22

 Example - Four Charges
• Consider four charges placed at the corners of a square
with sides of length 1.25 m as shown on the right. What
is the magnitude of the electric force on q4 resulting from
the electric force from the remaining three charges?

Set up x-y coordinate system with its origin located at q2 y

x-direction
kq 
x
qq qq q 
Fx  k 1 2 4  k 2 4 2 cos 45  24  q1  2 cos 45
d 2d  d  2 

y-direction
q2 q4 q3q4 kq4  q2 
Fy  k 2 sin 45  k   sin 45  q 3
 2d  d2 d2  2 

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 23

 Example - Four Charges (2)
F  Fx2  Fy2
2 2
 kq  q    kq  q 
F   24  q1  2 cos 45    24  2 sin 45  q3  
 d  2   d  2 
2 2
kq  q  q 
F  24  q1  2 cos 45   2 sin 45  q3 
d  2   2  y

q2 q 2.50 C
sin 45  2 cos 45   0.884 C x
2 2 2 2

F
8.99 10 4.50 C 
9

1.50 C  0.884 C   0.884 C  3.50 C

2 2

1.25 m 2
F  0.0916 N

January 22, 2021 University Physics III 24