You've been given the task of charging a spherical weather balloon made of a conducting material, and

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You've been given the task of charging a spherical weather balloon made of a conducting material, and you want to put as much charge on it as possible. An experienced colleague advises you that the air surrounding the balloon becomes conducting when the electric field at the balloon surface reaches \(100,000 \mathrm{~N} / \mathrm{C}\), causing a spark that discharges the balloon. Because the balloon must stay charged, you cannot allow this air breakdown to occur. By measuring the balloon's shadow, you calculate the balloon diameter to be \(3.5 \mathrm{~m}\). This gives you enough information to estimate the maximum charge the balloon can have without causing air breakdown.

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