2) A collection of four positive point charges +q are situated at four corners o

Question

2) A collection of four positive point charges +q are situated at four corners of a regular pentagon centered on the origin, as shown below. The distance from the center to each apex is a. Calculate the magnitude and direction of the electric field at the origin in terms of q, a, and physical constants Hint: You can solve this problem by adding the field components due to each charge separately, but there is a much easier way that relies on the superposition principle: where could you place a 5'h charge + to make the distribution fully symmetric? What would be the resulting field at the origin in that case? Given this result, how is the field of the 5th charge related to the field that was orig- inally present? If you do solve it this way, please explain carefully

Explanation / Answer

If a fifth charge is placed, the net Electric field at center becomes zero.

Means

E1to4 + E5 = 0

E1to4 = - E5

But

E5 = -kq/a2 ..... as it is directed towards left.

so,

E1to4 = kq/a2

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse 2
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.