Electric charge can accumulate on an airplane in flight. You may have observed needle-shaped metal extensions on the wing tips and tail of an airplane. Their purpose is to allow charge to leak off before much of it accumulates. The electric field around the needle is much larger than the field around the body of the airplane, and can become large enough to produce dielectric breakdown of the air, discharging the airplane. To model this process, assume that two charged spherical conductors are connected by a long conducting wire, and a charge of 1.20 +C is placed on the combination. One sphere, representing the body of the airplane, has a radius of 6.00 cm, and the other, representing the tip of the needle, has a radius of 2.00 cm. (a) What is the electric potential of each sphere? (b) What is the electric field at the surface of each sphere?

College Physics
11th Edition
ISBN:9781305952300
Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
Publisher:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
Chapter1: Units, Trigonometry. And Vectors
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Problem 1CQ: Estimate the order of magnitude of the length, in meters, of each of the following; (a) a mouse, (b)...
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Electric charge can accumulate on an airplane in flight. You may have observed needle-shaped metal extensions on the wing tips and tail of an airplane. Their purpose is to allow charge to leak off before much of it accumulates. The electric field around the needle is much larger than the field around the body of the airplane, and can become large enough to produce dielectric breakdown of the air, discharging the airplane. To model this process, assume that two charged spherical conductors are connected by a long conducting wire, and a charge of 1.20 +C is placed on the combination. One sphere, representing the body of the airplane, has a radius of 6.00 cm, and the other, representing the tip of the needle, has a radius of 2.00 cm. (a) What is the electric potential of each sphere? (b) What is the electric field at the surface of each sphere?

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