As the result of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on the sun (see internet website

Question

As the result of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on the sun (see internet website http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/sunearthsystem/main/News080210-cme.html for an example of a CME) a spherical metallic satellite, 158 cm in diameter, acquired a surface charge density of -8.54 x 106 C/m2 in one orbit of the earth. Unfortunately, this excess electrical charge caused the satellite to stop working!! Based on this charge density, approximately how many excess electrons did the satellite accumulate during the exposure? Give your answer in the form of "a.bc x 10^(x)" electrons

Explanation / Answer

charge density p = -8.54*10^6 C/m^2

=> total charge on satellite Q = p*area =  -8.54*10^6*4*pi*(r^2) =  -8.54*10^6*4*pi*(0.79^2) = - 66.97*10^6 C

charge of electron e = -1.602*10^-19 C

=> number excess electron N = Q/e = - 66.97*10^6/(-1.602*10^-19) = 41.80*10^25 = 4.18*10^26

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