A proton carries a charge of 1.60X10 -19 C and has a radius of 8.42X10 -16 m. To
ID: 1391473 • Letter: A
Question
A proton carries a charge of 1.60X10-19 C and has a radius of 8.42X10-16 m. To get two protons to fuse, they must be brought so close together that the strong nuclear attraction overcomes the Coulomb repulsion--they must be touching.
*Calculate the force with which the two protons must repel each other when they are just touching & Calculate what the initial acceleration of each proton would be while noting that the force is huge especially when we consider that the mass of the proton is only 1.67X10-27 kg.
Explanation / Answer
Required Force F = k*q1*q2/r^2
k = 9*10^9
q1 = q2 =1.6*10^-19 C
r = disatnce between them = 2*8.42*10^-16 = 16.84*10^-16 m
F = k*q1*q2/r^2 = (9*10^9*1.6*10^-19*1.6*10^-19)/(2*8.41*10^-16)^2
F = 81.43 N
here F is the Force acting on each proton by another proton
but according to newton's second law of motion
Fnet = m*a
F = m*a
81.43 = m*a
here m is the mass of the proton = 1.67*10^-27 kg
81.43 = (1.67*10^-27*a)
a is the accelaration of each proton
a = (81.43)/(1.67*10^-27)
a = 4.87*10^28 m/s^2