Statement
6.1.1. [a. Find the interaction force of charges of 1 and 2 C at a distance of 1 km from eachother, b. With what force do two electrons interact at a distance of 10^{-8} cm? How many times is this force greater than the force of their gravitational attraction?]
Solution
(a) By using Coulomb's Law,
And plugging in the values given (1 C, 2C, 1 km/1000m),
Calculating this value gives us:
\text{18,000 N or about
(b) Once again, using Coulomb's Law:
Knowing that the charge of an electron is
Computing this value gives
if we compare this to the gravitational attraction of the electrons, which is first given by the Law of Universal Gravitation:
and then plugging in the known distance and the electron mass of
Dividing these two values to give us the ratio between electromagnetic and gravitational attraction gives us:
Answer
[a) 1.8\cdot 10^4 N, b) 4.2\cdot 10^{42}]