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Four equal point charges, each +1 microcoulomb, are fixed at the four…

Question

Four equal point charges, each +1 microcoulomb, are fixed at the four corners of a square of side 0.10 m. Taking k = 9 x 10^9 N·m^2/C^2, find the total electrostatic potential energy of this configuration, in joule, to four decimal places.

✓ Verified answer: 0.4873checked by our engine — not a guess

Step-by-step solution

There are 6 pairs: 4 along the edges (separation a) and 2 along the diagonals (separation a*sqrt(2)).
Total U = k q^2 [4/a + 2/(a sqrt(2))].
With kq^2 = (9e9)(1e-6)^2 = 9e-3, and a = 0.10: U = 9e-3 [4/0.1 + 2/(0.1 x 1.41421)] = 9e-3 [40 + 14.1421] = 9e-3 x 54.1421 = 0.4873 J.

Final answer0.4873

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