Two identical positive point charges are kept apart in air
PHYSICS · Subjective · AP · Physics 2: Algebra-based · Electric Force Field and Potential · Electric Force Field and Potential
Problem
Two identical positive point charges are kept 8cm apart in air. Their mutual potential energy is U0.
(a) The separation between the charges is slowly increased to 24cm. Express the new potential energy U in terms of U0.
(b) Calculate the percentage change in potential energy.
(c) During this process, must external work be done on the system or is work done by the system? Justify your answer briefly.