Show that the force on each plate of a parallel plate capacitor has a magnitude equal to (½) QE, where Q is the charge on the capacitor, and E is the magnitude of electric field between the plates. Explain the origin of the factor ½.
Let F be the force applied to separate the plates of a parallel plate capacitor by a distance of Δx.
Hence, work done by the force to do so = FΔx
As a result, the potential energy of the capacitor increases by an amount given as uAΔx.
Where,
u = Energy density
A = Area of each plate
d = Distance between the plates
V = Potential difference across the plates
The work done will be equal to the increase in the potential energy i.e.,
Electric intensity is given by,
However, capacitance,
Charge on the capacitor is given by,
Q = CV
The physical origin of the factor,
, in the force formula lies in the fact that just outside the conductor, field is E and inside it is zero. Hence, it is the average value,
, of the field that contributes to the force.
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An infinite line charge produces a field of 9 × 104 N/C at a distance of 2 cm. Calculate the linear charge density.
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A polythene piece rubbed with wool is found to have a negative charge of 3 × 10−7 C.
(a) Estimate the number of electrons transferred (from which to which?)
(b) Is there a transfer of mass from wool to polythene?
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A 600 pF capacitor is charged by a 200 V supply. It is then disconnected from the supply and is connected to another uncharged 600 pF capacitor. How much electrostatic energy is lost in the process?
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A parallel plate capacitor with air between the plates has a capacitance of 8 pF (1pF = 10-12 F). What will be the capacitance if the distance between the plates is reduced by half, and the space between them is filled with a substance of dielectric constant 6?
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A regular hexagon of side 10 cm has a charge 5 µC at each of its vertices. Calculate the potential at the centre of the hexagon.
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A point charge +10 μC is a distance 5 cm directly above the centre of a square of side 10 cm, as shown in Fig. 1.34. What is the magnitude of the electric flux through the square? (Hint: Think of the square as one face of a cube with edge 10 cm.)
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A conducting sphere of radius 10 cm has an unknown charge. If the electric field 20 cm from the centre of the sphere is 1.5 × 103 N/C and points radially inward, what is the net charge on the sphere?
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A point charge of 2.0 μC is at the centre of a cubic Gaussian surface 9.0 cm on edge. What is the net electric flux through the surface?
Recently Viewed Questions of Class 12 Physics
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A 4.5 cm needle is placed 12 cm away from a convex mirror of focal length 15 cm. Give the location of the image and the magnification. Describe what happens as the needle is moved farther from the mirror.
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What is the de Broglie wavelength of a nitrogen molecule in air at 300 K? Assume that the molecule is moving with the root-mean square speed of molecules at this temperature. (Atomic mass of nitrogen = 14.0076 u)
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A short bar magnet of magnetic moment m = 0.32 JT-1is placed in a uniform magnetic field of 0.15 T. If the bar is free to rotate in the plane of the field, which orientation would correspond to its (a) stable, and (b) unstable equilibrium? What is the potential energy of the magnet in each case?
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Answer the following questions:
(a) A magnetic field that varies in magnitude from point to point but has a constant direction (east to west) is set up in a chamber. A charged particle enters the chamber and travels undeflected along a straight path with constant speed. What can you say about the initial velocity of the particle?
(b) A charged particle enters an environment of a strong and non-uniform magnetic field varying from point to point both in magnitude and direction, and comes out of it following a complicated trajectory. Would its final speed equal the initial speed if it suffered no collisions with the environment?
(c) An electron travelling west to east enters a chamber having a uniform electrostatic field in north to south direction. Specify the direction in which a uniform magnetic field should be set up to prevent the electron from deflecting from its straight line path.
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A hollow charged conductor has a tiny hole cut into its surface. Show that the σ/2ε0 n̂ , where n̂ is the unit vector in the outward normal direction and σ is the surface charge density near the hole.
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In a potentiometer arrangement, a cell of emf 1.25 V gives a balance point at 35.0 cm length of the wire. If the cell is replaced by another cell and the balance point shifts to 63.0 cm, what is the emf of the second cell?
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When a forward bias is applied to a p-n junction, it
(a) raises the potential barrier.
(b) reduces the majority carrier current to zero.
(c) lowers the potential barrier.
(d) None of the above.
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Figure 8.6 shows a capacitor made of two circular plates each of radius 12 cm, and separated by 5.0 cm. The capacitor is being charged by an external source (not shown in the figure). The charging current is constant and equal to 0.15 A.
(a) Calculate the capacitance and the rate of charge of potential difference between the plates.
(b) Obtain the displacement current across the plates.
(c) Is Kirchhoff’s first rule (junction rule) valid at each plate of the capacitor? Explain.
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In a Van de Graaff type generator a spherical metal shell is to be a 15 x 106 V electrode. The dielectric strength of the gas surrounding the electrode is 5 x 107 Vm-1. What is the minimum radius of the spherical shell required? (You will learn from this exercise why one cannot build an electrostatic generator using a very small shell which requires a small charge to acquire a high potential.)
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