Suppose you had an excess charge, instead of being electrically neutral. For exa

Question

Suppose you had an excess charge, instead of being electrically neutral. For example, say people had a mere 0.1% more electrons than protons in their bodies. How strong would the force be between 2 people standing 1 m apart?

(How many electrons do you have in your body? Consider that virtually all your mass is given by protons and neutrons. Since the proton and the neutron have almost equal masses, and most atoms have equal numbers of protons and neutrons, your mass, divided by 2, is the mass of protons in your body. Once you know the total mass of protons, divide by the mass of a single proton and you have the total number of protons. Knowing that, how many electrons do you then suppose you have?)

Explanation / Answer

Mass of an average human = 80kg
Mass of protons = 80/2 = 40kg
Mass of a proton = 1.67*10^-27
Number of protons = 40/1.67*10^-27 = 23.95*10^27
Number of excess electrons = 0.1p.c. of 23.95*10^27 = 23.95*10^24
Charge of these electrons = 1.6*10^-19 * 23.95*10^24 = 38.323 * 10^5 C
Force between two people= 8.98*10^9*(38.323*10^5)^2/1^2= 1.31*10^23 N

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse S
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.