PartlyCloudlike
Member
Hi, I was wondering if anyone can help me with this physics problem. It's an online problem and I've already completed parts b,c,d,e. But I can't get part A for the LIFE OF ME!!
You have 3 charges, 50, -20, and 70 nC, located at the vertices of an equilateral triangle of side 8 cm.
(a) If the only charges on the equilateral triangle are the 50 and -20 nC, what is the x-coordinate of the center of the circle that describes the equipotential of 0 volts?
OK, so first I set up V1+V2 = 0. Do some algebra and I have:
25/(x^2 + y^2) = 4 / ((8-x)^2 + y^2)
25y^2 + 25x^2 - 4x^2 - 400x -4y^2+ 1600 = 0
21x^2 + 21y^2 - 400x + 1600 = 0
x^2 + y^2 - 400x/21 + 1600/21 = 0
Now here's where I get stuck. I know I'm trying to get my numbers into the form (x - xo)^2+(y - yo)^2=r^2
But how do I get x0 and yo? And where do I go from here? I'd appreciate any help!
You have 3 charges, 50, -20, and 70 nC, located at the vertices of an equilateral triangle of side 8 cm.
(a) If the only charges on the equilateral triangle are the 50 and -20 nC, what is the x-coordinate of the center of the circle that describes the equipotential of 0 volts?
OK, so first I set up V1+V2 = 0. Do some algebra and I have:
25/(x^2 + y^2) = 4 / ((8-x)^2 + y^2)
25y^2 + 25x^2 - 4x^2 - 400x -4y^2+ 1600 = 0
21x^2 + 21y^2 - 400x + 1600 = 0
x^2 + y^2 - 400x/21 + 1600/21 = 0
Now here's where I get stuck. I know I'm trying to get my numbers into the form (x - xo)^2+(y - yo)^2=r^2
But how do I get x0 and yo? And where do I go from here? I'd appreciate any help!