Question

Two identical pith balls, each carrying a charge q, are suspended from a common point by two strings of equal length l. Find the mass of each ball if the angle between the strings is 2θ in equilibrium

Answer 1

The mass of each pith ball can be calculated using the equation m = (k*q^2 / (l^2*g))*sin(θ).

Step-by-step explanation:

In equilibrium, the tension in each string is equal and opposite to the electric force between the pith balls. Therefore, we can write the equation:

T*sin(θ) = k*q^2 / l^2

where T is the tension in the string, θ is the angle between the strings, k is the electrostatic constant, q is the charge on each pith ball, and l is the length of the string.

From this equation, we can find the relationship between the mass of each ball m and the tension T:

T = m*g

where g is the acceleration due to gravity.

By substituting the value of T from the first equation into the second equation, we can solve for the mass of each ball:

m = (k*q^2 / (l^2*g))*sin(θ)