Charge is placed on two conducting spheres that are very far apart and connected by a long thin wire. The radius of the smaller

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Charge is placed on two conducting spheres that are very far apart and connected by a long thin wire. The radius of the smaller

sphere is 5 cm and that of the larger sphere is 12 cm. The electric field at the surface of the larger sphere is 358 kV/m. Find the surface charge density on each sphere.

Physics

1 answer:

Softa [3K] · Answer 1 · 2026-03-01T05:58:06+03:00

Answer:

σ₁ = $3.167 * 10^{-6}$ C/m²

σ₂ = $7.6 * 10 ^{-6}$ C/m²

Explanation:

Provided Information:

i) Smaller sphere's radius ( r ) = 5 cm.

ii) Larger sphere's radius ( R ) = 12 cm.

iii) Electric field at the larger sphere's surface ( E₁ ) = 358 kV/m, which is equivalent to 358 * 1000 v/m

$E_{1} = (\frac{1}{4\pi\epsilon }) (\frac{Q_{1} }{R^{2} } )$

$358000 = 9 * 10^{9 } *\frac{Q_{1} }{0.12^{2} }$

Charge (Q₁) = 572.8 $* 10^{-9}$ C

Since the electric field inside a conductor is zero, the electric potential ( V ) remains constant.

V = constant

∴ $\frac{Q_{1} }{R} = \frac{Q_{2} }{r}$

$Q_{2} = \frac{r}{R} *Q_{1}$

$Q_{2} = \frac{5}{12} *572.8*10^{-9}$ = $238.666 *10^{-9}$ C

Surface charge density ( σ₁ ) for the larger sphere.

Calculated Area ( A₁ ) = 4 * π * R² = 4 * 3.14 * 0.12 = 0.180864 m².

σ₁ = $\frac{Q_{1} }{A_{1} }$ = $\frac{572.8 *10^{-9} }{0.180864}$ = $3.167 * 10^{-6}$ C/m².

Surface charge density ( σ₂ ) for the smaller sphere.

Calculated Area ( A₂ ) = 4 * π * r² = 4 * 3.14 * 0.05² = 0.0314 m².

σ₂ = $\frac{Q_{2} }{A_{2} }$ = $\frac{238.66 *10^{-9} }{0.0314}$ = $7.6 * 10 ^{-6}$ C/m²