University Physics with Modern Physics (14th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0321973615
ISBN 13: 978-0-32197-361-0

Chapter 23 - Electric Potential - Problems - Exercises - Page 777: 23.3

Answer

2 16 MeV.

Work Step by Step

The required potential is the scalar sum of the individual potential energies. Each individual potential energy is $U = \frac{1}{4\pi \epsilon_{0}} \frac{q_1 q_2}{r}$. Each charge is $e$ and the charges are all equidistant from one another, so $\Sigma U = \frac{1}{4\pi \epsilon_{0}}(\frac{e^2}{r} + \frac{e^2}{r} +\frac{e^2}{r}) = \frac{3e^2}{4\pi \epsilon_{0}r}$ Plugging in the data, we have: $\Sigma U = \frac{3(9\times 10^9)(1.6\times 10^{-19})^2}{(2\times 10^{-15})} = 3.46 \times 10^{-13} J = 2.16 \ MeV$.
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