What is the force on a proton sitting midway between a pair of parallel conducting plates that sit at potentials of -17 V and 55 V,respectively? Their separation distance is 1.5 cm.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The force on a charged particle due to an electric field is given by F=qE, where q is the charge and E is the electric field. In this case, the plates create a uniform electric field between them, given by E=(V2-V1)/d = (55-(-17))/(1.5x10^-2) = 4.733x10^3 N/C. The proton has a charge of +1.602x10^-19 C, so the force on it is F = (1.602x10^-19 C)(4.733x10^3 N/C) = 7.614x10^-16 N. This is closest to option C, 7.7x10^-16 N.

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