A small latex bead of negligible mass is charged to and held fixed in freshwater
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Electric Charges and Fields · Electric Charges and Fields
Problem
A small latex bead of negligible mass is charged to −4.5μC and held fixed in freshwater. A second bead carrying +3.0μC is placed 0.25m away, also fully immersed in the water.
Freshwater can be modeled with a relative permittivity εr=80.
Respond to the prompts below.
(a) Calculate the magnitude of the electric force that would act between the two beads if they were instead in a vacuum at the same separation.
(b) Determine the magnitude of the force actually exerted between the beads while submerged in the water.
(c) By what factor does the water change the force compared with the vacuum case? Express the factor numerically and explain its physical significance.