Practice question
Question
A spherical conductor of radius 8 cm has a charge of \( 4 \times 10^{-8} \, \text{C} \). What is the
potential at its surface? (Take \( \frac{1}{4 \pi \varepsilon_0} = 9 \times 10^9 \, \text{Nm}^2
\text{C}^{-2} \)).
Explanation
**Potential due to point charge** V = (1/4π ε₀)Q/r, positive Q gives positive V, negative gives negative. At r=0.3 m from Q=3×10⁻⁸ C, V=9×10⁹×3×10⁻⁸/0.3=900 V. Work done moving charge q from infinity (V=0) to point where V=40 V is W = q V =9×10⁻⁶×40=3.6×10⁻⁴ J. Potential at the surface: V = (1/4 π ε₀) (Q/R) . V = 9 × 10⁹ × (4 × 10⁻⁸/0.08) = 9 × 10⁹ × 5 × 10⁻⁷ = 4500 V . Using V = kQ/r, U = k q₁q₂/r, E = -dV/dr, C = ε₀A/d, 1/C_eq series, C_eq = ΣC parallel, U = ½ C V² and common potential
Discussion
Comments
Please log in to join the discussion.
Login to commentNo comments yet. Be the first to start the discussion.