Practice question
Question
A thin spherical shell of radius 8 cm has \( q = 4 \, \mu\text{C} \). What is the electric field at 10
cm from the center?
Explanation
**Special distributions** like infinite line, plane, spherical shell demonstrate Gauss's law advantage. Outside shell, charge appears concentrated at centre; inside, q_enc = 0 implies vanishing field, key result for shielding. Outside shell: E = (k q/r²) . E = 9 × 10⁹ × (4 × 10⁻⁶/(0.1)²) = 9 × 10⁹ × (4 × 10⁻⁶/0.01) = 3.6 × 10⁶ N/C . Substituting values gives 3.6 × 10⁶ N/C, which matches expected magnitude for this electrostatic configuration, confirming Coulomb's and Gauss's principles and charge quantization consistency.
Discussion
Comments
Please log in to join the discussion.
Login to commentNo comments yet. Be the first to start the discussion.