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Chapter 18: Q2Q (page 755)

Describe the following attributes of a metal wire in steady

state vs. equilibrium:

Metal Wire

Steady-state

Equilibrium

Location of excess charge

Motion of mobile electrons

inside the metal wire

Short Answer

Expert verified

Metal Wire

Steady-state

Equilibrium

Location of excess charge

No excess charge

If present, on the surface

Motion of mobile electrons

In motion

Stationary

inside the metal wire

Non-zero

Zero

Step by step solution

01

Given data

A metal wire in steady state and in equilibrium.

02

Concept of steady state and equilibrium

A conductor with a continuous and steady flow of charges is said to be in a steady state.

A conductor where the charges are stationary and situated at the surface is said to be in equilibrium.

03

Determination of the difference between steady state and equilibrium in a metal wire

A metal wire in equilibrium can have excess charges only at the surface. There are no charges inside the wire. A metal wire in steady state doesn't have any excess charge. It is electrically neutral.

The electric field inside a metal wire in equilibrium is zero but the electric field inside a metal wire in steady state is never zero.

Thus the table can be filled as follows:

Metal Wire

Steady-state

Equilibrium

Location of excess charge

No excess charge

If present, on the surface

Motion of mobile electrons

In motion

Stationary

inside the metal wire

Non-zero

Zero

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Most popular questions from this chapter

When a single thick-filament bulb of a particular kind and two batteries are connected in series, 3×1018 electrons pass through the bulb every second. When two batteries in series are connected to a single thin-filament bulb, with a filament made of the same material and length as the thick-filament bulb but a smaller cross-section, only 1.5×1018 electrons pass through the bulb every second. (a) In the circuit shown in Figure 18.109, how many electrons per second flow through the thin-filament bulb? (b) What approximations or simplifying assumptions did you make? (c) Show approximately the surface charge on a diagram of the circuit.

In a circuit with one battery, connecting wires, and a 12cmlength of Nichrome wire, a compass deflection of 6°is observed. What compass deflection would you expect in a circuit containing two batteries in a series, connecting wires and a36cm length of thicker Nichrome wire (double the cross-sectional area of the thin piece)? Explain.

The drift speed in a copper wire is 7×10-5msfor a typical electron current. Calculate the magnitude of the electric field inside the copper wire. The mobility of mobile electrons in copper is 4.5×10-3ms/NC. (Note that though the electric field in the wire is very small, it is adequate to push a sizable electron current through the copper wire.)

Suppose that wire A and wire B are made of different metals and are subjected to the same electric field in two different circuits. Wire B has the 6 times the cross sectional area, 1.3 times as many mobile electrons per cubic centimetre and 4 times the mobility of wire A. In the steady state \({\bf{2 \times 1}}{{\bf{0}}^{{\bf{18}}}}\) electrons enters wire A every second. How many electrons enter wire B every second?

Question: Some students intended to run a light bulb off two batteries in series in the usual way, but they accidentally hooked up one of the batteries backwards, as shown in Figure 18.89 (the bulb is shown as a thin filament).

(a)Use+’s and -’s to show the approximate steady-state charge distribution along the wires and bulb.

(b)Draw vectors for the electric field at the indicated locations inside the connecting wires and bulb.

(c)Compare the brightness of the bulb in this circuit with the brightness the bulb would have had if one of the batteries hadn’t been put in backwards.

(d)Try the experiment to check your analysis. Does the bulb glow about as you predicted?
See all solutions

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