Question

A proton and an electron are placed 1.6 cm apart in free space. Find the magnitude of electrostatic force between them. What is the nature of this force.
(1) 9 × 10^–25 repulsion
(2) 90 × 10^–25 repulsion
(3) 9 × 10^–25 N; attractive
(4) 9 × 10²⁵ attractive

Answer 1

Dear Student ,
The electrostatic force between the proton and electron is ,
$$\begin{gathered} F=\frac{1}{4\pi {\epsilon }_0}\frac{q_p{q}_e}{r^2} \\ =9\times {10}^9\times \frac{1·6\times {10}^{-19}\times 1·6\times {10}^{-19}}{\left(1·6\times {10}^{-2}\right)}\hspace{0.17em}N \\ =9\times {10}^{-25}N \\ Theelectrostaticforcewillbeattractiveinnature. \end{gathered}$$

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