Three Charges IN A LINE-ELECTRIC FIELD Shown are two cases where three charges a

Question

Three Charges IN A LINE-ELECTRIC FIELD Shown are two cases where three charges are placed in a row. Three students are comparing the electric field that exerts a force on the middle charge in the diagrams. Adrianna: "All three charges contribute by the principle of superposition. So the field is going to be greatest in case A since the contributions due to the three charges will be greatest." Brandon: "I think it's bogus question. The field at the point is undefined because there is a charge there." Catalina: "You're wrong. The field that exerts a force on the middle charge is the field due to all of the other charges in the region. Since these don't change, the field acting on the middle charge is the same in both cases." Which of these students is correct? Adrianna Brandon Catalina None of then Explain.

Explanation / Answer

None of them is right
In this particular case, the field produced by two equal charges is same if they have equal sign. So, here, both the charges at the midpoint faces zero force.
Adrana's point that all the charge contribute to the force is true, but here it is not different because of the special arrangement it is in. Catalina's second argument is correct, but the force depends upon the charge which is feeling it, not entirely depends on the surrounding charges.

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