Question

After upacking a shipment, Rex dumps the box of styrofoam packing chips into a recycling bin. One packing chip of mass .01g becomes electrically charged, sticking to the bottom of Rex's sleeve. The charge on the packing chip is +9.8x10^-6 C and its center is .02m from the center of Rex's sleeve.

a) calculate the force of gravity pulling downwards on the packing chip

b) Calculate the charge needed on Rex's sleeve in order for the electrical force to prevent packing chips from falling to the ground.

Answer 1

m = 0.1 g = 0.1 X 10^-3 Kg

a) F_g = mg = (0.1 X 10^-3)(9.81)

F_g = 9.8 X 10^-4 N

b) The elctrical force must balance the gravitational force for the electrical force to prevent packing chips from falling to the ground.

the charge needed on Rex's sleeve in order for the electrical force to prevent packing chips from falling to the ground is 4.44 X 10^-12 C