Saturday, June 1, 2013

Each corner of a right angled triangle is occupied by identical point charges "A", "B", and "C" respectively. Draw a sketch of this arrangement. "A" exerts force F on "B". An equal force F is exerted by "C" on "B" (/_ ABC= 90 degrees). Determine an expression for the net force on "B".

Hello!
Because the charges are identical, they repel each other. Therefore the direction of the force that A exerts on B is directed from A to B (outside the triangle ABC ). The direction of the force that C exerts on B is from C to B (also outside the triangle ABC ).
The net force is the vector sum of these two forces. Both forces have equal magnitude F and the angle between them is 90 degrees, and the magnitude of the net force is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle with the legs of length F. It is F*sqrt(2) (this is the answer for "an expression").
The direction of the net force is 45 degrees to both forces outside of the triangle ABC, because the parallelogram of forces is a square in this case. Please look at the picture attached.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Why is the fact that the Americans are helping the Russians important?

In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...