(a) Consider an arbitrary electrostatic field configuration. A small test charge is placed at a null point (i.e., where E = 0) of the configuration. Show that the equilibrium of the test charge is necessarily unstable.
(b) Verify this result for the simple configuration of two charges of the same magnitude and sign placed a certain distance apart.
(a) Let the equilibrium of the test charge be stable. If a test charge is in equilibrium and displaced from its position in any direction, then it experiences a restoring force towards a null point, where the electric field is zero. All the field lines near the null point are directed inwards towards the null point. There is a net inward flux of electric field through a closed surface around the null point. According to Gauss's law, the flux of electric field through a surface, which is not enclosing any charge, is zero. Hence, the equilibrium of the test charge can be stable.
(b) Two charges of same magnitude and same sign are placed at a certain distance. The mid-point of the joining line of the charges is the null point. When a test charged is displaced along the line, it experiences a restoring force. If it is displaced normal to the joining line, then the net force takes it away from the null point. Hence, the charge is unstable because stability of equilibrium requires restoring force in all directions.
What is the force between two small charged spheres having charges of 2 x 10-7 C and 3 x 10-7 C placed 30 cm apart in air?
An infinite line charge produces a field of 9 × 104 N/C at a distance of 2 cm. Calculate the linear charge density.
A polythene piece rubbed with wool is found to have a negative charge of 3 × 10−7 C.
(a) Estimate the number of electrons transferred (from which to which?)
(b) Is there a transfer of mass from wool to polythene?
A point charge +10 μC is a distance 5 cm directly above the centre of a square of side 10 cm, as shown in Fig. 1.34. What is the magnitude of the electric flux through the square? (Hint: Think of the square as one face of a cube with edge 10 cm.)
A conducting sphere of radius 10 cm has an unknown charge. If the electric field 20 cm from the centre of the sphere is 1.5 × 103 N/C and points radially inward, what is the net charge on the sphere?
A point charge of 2.0 μC is at the centre of a cubic Gaussian surface 9.0 cm on edge. What is the net electric flux through the surface?
The electrostatic force on a small sphere of charge 0.4 μC due to another small sphere of charge − 0.8 μC in air is 0.2 N.
(a) What is the distance between the two spheres?
(b) What is the force on the second sphere due to the first?
Two point charges qA = 3 μC and qB = −3 μC are located 20 cm apart in vacuum.
(a) What is the electric field at the midpoint O of the line AB joining the two charges?
(b) If a negative test charge of magnitude 1.5 × 10−9 C is placed at this point, what is the force experienced by the test charge?
An electric dipole with dipole moment 4 × 10−9 C m is aligned at 30° with the direction of a uniform electric field of magnitude 5 × 104N C−1. Calculate the magnitude of the torque acting on the dipole.
A uniformly charged conducting sphere of 2.4 m diameter has a surface charge density of 80.0 μC/m2.
(a) Find the charge on the sphere.
(b) What is the total electric flux leaving the surface of the sphere?
Answer the following questions regarding earth's magnetism:
(a) A vector needs three quantities for its specification. Name the three independent quantities conventionally used to specify the earth's magnetic field.
(b) The angle of dip at a location in southern India is about 18º.
Would you expect a greater or smaller dip angle in Britain?
(c) If you made a map of magnetic field lines at Melbourne in Australia, would the lines seem to go into the ground or come out of the ground?
(d) In which direction would a compass free to move in the vertical plane point to, if located right on the geomagnetic north or south pole?
(e) The earth's field, it is claimed, roughly approximates the field due to a dipole of magnetic moment 8 x 1022 J T-1 located at its centre. Check the order of magnitude of this number in some way.
(f ) Geologists claim that besides the main magnetic N-S poles, there are several local poles on the earth's surface oriented in different directions. How is such a thing possible at all?
(a) Two stable isotopes of lithium 6Li3 and7Li3 have respective abundances of 7.5% and 92.5%. These isotopes have masses 6.01512 u and 7.01600 u, respectively. Find the atomic mass of lithium.
(b) Boron has two stable isotopes, 10B5 and 11B5 . Their respective masses are 10.01294 u and 11.00931 u, and the atomic mass of boron is 10.811 u. Find the abundances of 10B5 and 11B5.
A small candle, 2.5 cm in size is placed at 27 cm in front of a concave mirror of radius of curvature 36 cm. At what distance from the mirror should a screen be placed in order to obtain a sharp image? Describe the nature and size of the image. If the candle is moved closer to the mirror, how would the screen have to be moved?
Figure 8.6 shows a capacitor made of two circular plates each of radius 12 cm, and separated by 5.0 cm. The capacitor is being charged by an external source (not shown in the figure). The charging current is constant and equal to 0.15 A.
(a) Calculate the capacitance and the rate of charge of potential difference between the plates.
(b) Obtain the displacement current across the plates.
(c) Is Kirchhoff’s first rule (junction rule) valid at each plate of the capacitor? Explain.
Monochromatic light of wavelength 589 nm is incident from air on a water surface. What are the wavelength, frequency and speed of
(a) reflected, and
(b) refracted light? Refractive index of water is 1.33.
Two charges 5 x 10-8 C and -3 x 10-8 C are located 16 cm apart. At what point(s) on the line joining the two charges is the electric potential zero? Take the potential at infinity to be zero.
A 12 pF capacitor is connected to a 50V battery. How much electrostatic energy is stored in the capacitor?
A silver wire has a resistance of 2.1 Ω at 27.5 °C, and a resistance of 2.7 Ω at 100 °C. Determine the temperature coefficient of resistivity of silver.
At room temperature (27.0 °C) the resistance of a heating element is 100 Ω. What is the temperature of the element if the resistance is found to be 117 Ω, given that the temperature coefficient of the material of the resistor is 1.70 x 10-4 °C-1
A spherical capacitor consists of two concentric spherical conductors, held in position by suitable insulating supports (Figure). Show
that the capacitance of a spherical capacitor is given by
where r1 and r2 are the radii of outer and inner spheres, respectively.
A short bar magnet has a magnetic moment of 0.48 J T-1. Give the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field produced by the magnet at a distance of 10 cm from the centre of the magnet on (a) the axis, (b) the equatorial lines (normal bisector) of the magnet.
A bar magnet of magnetic moment 1.5 J T-1 lies aligned with the direction of a uniform magnetic field of 0.22 T.
(a) What is the amount of work required by an external torque to turn the magnet so as to align its magnetic moment: (i) normal to the field direction, (ii) opposite to the field direction?
(b) What is the torque on the magnet in cases (i) and (ii)?
A square coil of side 10 cm consists of 20 turns and carries a current of 12 A. The coil is suspended vertically and the normal to the plane of the coil makes an angle of 30º with the direction of a uniform horizontal magnetic field of magnitude 0.80 T. What is the magnitude of torque experienced by the coil?
(a) The peak voltage of an ac supply is 300 V. What is the rms voltage?
(b) The rms value of current in an ac circuit is 10 A. What is the peak current?
A spherical conductor of radius 12 cm has a charge of 1.6 x 10-7C distributed uniformly on its surface. What is the electric field
(a) Inside the sphere
(b) Just outside the sphere
(c) At a point 18 cm from the centre of the sphere?
Calculate the
(a) momentum, and
(b) de Broglie wavelength of the electrons accelerated through a potential difference of 56 V.
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