A charge of #-2 C# is at the origin. How much energy would be applied to or released from a # 4 C# charge if it is moved from # (7 ,5 ) # to #(3 ,-9 ) #?
1 Answer
Mar 4, 2017
See below.
Explanation:
The electrostatic potential energy between 2 charges follows from Coulomb's Law as:
The distance between the charges changes from
So:
Given that a negative charge and a positive charge are pulled apart in this process, the potential energy of the system should increase, and energy needs to be applied to the system to achieve this.