Two concentric metal spheres are found to have a potential difference of \(900 . \mathrm{V}\) when a charge of \(6.726 \cdot 10^{-8} \mathrm{C}\) is applied to them. The radius of the outer sphere is \(0.210 \mathrm{~m}\). What is the radius of the inner sphere?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The radius of the inner sphere is approximately 0.141 m.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the given information and what we need to find

We are given the potential difference (\(V\)) between the two concentric metal spheres as \(900 \mathrm{V}\). We also know the charge (\(Q\)) applied to them is \(6.726 \cdot 10^{-8} \mathrm{C}\) and the radius of the outer sphere (\(R_2\)) is \(0.210 \mathrm{m}\). We need to find the radius of the inner sphere (\(R_1\)).
02

Use the potential difference formula

In this case, we will use the following formula to relate the potential difference, charge, and radii of the spheres: $$ V = \frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \cdot \frac{Q}{\frac{1}{R_1} - \frac{1}{R_2}} $$ Where \(\epsilon_0\) is the vacuum permittivity constant and is equal to \(8.854 \times 10^{-12} \mathrm{F/m}\).
03

Rearrange the formula to solve for \(R_1\)

We want to find \(R_1\), so we will rearrange the given formula to solve for it: $$ \frac{1}{R_1} - \frac{1}{R_2} = \frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \cdot \frac{Q}{V} $$ $$ \frac{1}{R_1} = \frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \cdot \frac{Q}{V} + \frac{1}{R_2} $$ $$ R_1 = \frac{1}{\frac{1}{4 \pi \epsilon_0} \cdot \frac{Q}{V} + \frac{1}{R_2}} $$
04

Calculate the radius of the inner sphere

Now we can plug in the values we are given to find \(R_1\): $$ R_1 = \frac{1}{\frac{1}{4 \pi (8.854 \times 10^{-12} \mathrm{F/m})} \cdot \frac{6.726 \times 10^{-8} \mathrm{C}}{900 \mathrm{V}} + \frac{1}{0.210 \mathrm{m}}} $$ Compute the value of \(R_1\): $$ R_1 \approx 0.141 \mathrm{m} $$ Therefore, the radius of the inner sphere is approximately \(0.141 \mathrm{m}\).

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Most popular questions from this chapter

How much energy can be stored in a capacitor with two parallel plates, each with an area of \(64.0 \mathrm{~cm}^{2}\) and separated by a gap of \(1.30 \mathrm{~mm}\), filled with porcelain whose dielectric constant is \(7.0,\) and holding equal and opposite charges of magnitude \(420 . \mu C ?\)

What is the radius of an isolated spherical conductor that has a capacitance of \(1.00 \mathrm{~F} ?\)

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