Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.

?
Lv 7
? asked in Science & MathematicsPhysics · 9 years ago

What is the escape speed for an electron initially at rest?

What is the escape speed for an electron initially at rest on the surface of a sphere with a radius of 1.0 cm and a uniformly distributed charge of 1.6x10^-15 C? That is, what initial speed must the electron have in order to reach an infi-nite distance from the sphere and have zero kinetic energy when it gets there?

v=sqrt(something)/m where m supposed to be 9.11x10^-31 kg but what are other variables?

1 Answer

Relevance
  • Fred
    Lv 7
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    I'm assuming that by 'uniformly distributed' you're referring to the volume of the sphere, not its surface. (In mathematics, "sphere" means the 2-dimensional surface of a "ball," which is 3-dimensional; but this being physics, I will take that as a volume distribution.) Although, for this geometry, the potential outside the sphere will be the same either way.

    To find the escape speed, v, you just need the electrical potential, V, at that surface. Mathematically, this is just like finding the gravitational potential (= potential energy per mass) at the surface of a spherical mass. Instead of G for the gravitational case, there will be 1/4πε₀. So instead of V(r) = GM/r, you'll have:

    V(r) = Q/(4πε₀r) = (1.5•10ˉ¹⁵C / 1.0•10ˉ²m)•8.99•10⁹ N•m²/C²

    = 1.35•10ˉ³V [*]

    The potential energy of the electron is

    PE(r) = qV(r) = -eV(r) = -1.602•10ˉ¹⁹C • 1.35•10ˉ³V = -2.16•10ˉ²²J

    So the electron needs a kinetic energy equal to (-PE) to escape.

    KE = ½mv² = 2.16•10ˉ²²J

    v = √(2KE/m) = √(4.32•10ˉ²²/0.911•10ˉ³⁰) m/s

    = 2.18•10⁴m/s ≈ 22 km/s

    [*] Some units manipulations:

    C•V = J = N•m

    ... so ...

    (C/m)•N•m²/C² = N•m/C = J/C = V

Still have questions? Get your answers by asking now.