Answer to Question #250484 in Physics for Soriano

Question

Particles A and B carrying charge 3.0nC are at the base corners of an equilateral triangle 2.8 m on a side

Calculate the electric potential energy for the triangular charge distribution?

Answer 1

The electric potential energy of two point charges is given as follows:

$$W = k\dfrac{q_1q_2}{r}$$

where $k = 9\times 10^{9}Nm^2/C^2$ is the Coulomb constant, $q_1 = q_2 \equiv q = 3\times 10^{-9}C$ are the charges (equal in this case), and $r = 2.8m$ is the distance between the charges. Thus, obtain:

$$W = 9\times 10^{9}\cdot \dfrac{(3\times 10^{-9})^2}{2.8} \approx 3.0\times 10^{-8}J$$

ANswer. $3.0\times 10^{-8}J$.