Two point charges placed at a distance r in the air experience a certa...
Solution:
Coulomb's Law:
Coulomb's law states that the force of attraction or repulsion between two charges is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
F = kq1q2/r^2
where,
F = force between the charges
k = Coulomb's constant
q1 and q2 = charges on the two particles
r = distance between the charges
Force between two charges in air:
Let the two charges be q1 and q2 placed at a distance r in air. Let the force between them be F1.
F1 = kq1q2/r^2
Force between two charges in a dielectric medium:
Let the same two charges be placed in a dielectric medium of dielectric constant k. The force between them will be F2.
F2 = k'q1q2/r^2
where,
k' = k/dielectric constant of the medium
As per Coulomb's law, the force between two charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Therefore, the distance between the charges in the dielectric medium will be different from that in the air.
To find the distance between the charges in the dielectric medium, we need to equate F1 and F2.
kq1q2/r^2 = k'q1q2/r'^2
where,
r' = distance between the charges in the dielectric medium
Simplifying the above equation, we get:
r' = r/rootk
Therefore, the distance at which the two charges will experience the same force in the medium of dielectric constant k is r/rootk.
Hence, the correct answer is option (3) r/rootk.
Two point charges placed at a distance r in the air experience a certa...