Question: 1.31 Decreasing energy? * A hollow spherical shell with radius R has charge Q uniformly dis- tributed over it. The task of Problem 1.32

1.31 Decreasing energy? * A hollow spherical shell with radius R has

1.31 Decreasing energy? * A hollow spherical shell with radius R has charge Q uniformly dis- tributed over it. The task of Problem 1.32 is to show that the energy stored in this system is Q/87 R. (You can derive this here if you want, or you can just accept it for the purposes of this problem.) Now imagine taking all of the charge and concentrating it in two point charges Q/2 located at diametrically opposite positions on the shell. The energy of this new system is (Q/2)/47 0 (2R) Q/32ER, which is less than the energy of the uniform spheri- cal shell. Does this make sense? If not, where is the error in this reasoning? =

Step by Step Solution

There are 3 Steps involved in it

1 Expert Approved Answer
Step: 1 Unlock

The text is a physics problem regarding the electrostatic energy stored in different configurations of charge Let me break down the problem and identi... View full answer

blur-text-image
Question Has Been Solved by an Expert!

Get step-by-step solutions from verified subject matter experts

Step: 2 Unlock
Step: 3 Unlock

Students Have Also Explored These Related Physics Questions!