2benefits of using models in science

In a thunderstorm, charge builds up on the water droplets or ice crystals in a cloud. thus, the charge can be considered to be distributed uniformly throughout the cloud. for the purposes of this problem, take the cloud to be a sphere of diameter 1.00 kilometer. the point of this problem is to estimate the maximum amount of charge that this cloud can contain, assuming that the charge builds up until the electric field at the surface of the cloud reaches the value at which the surrounding air breaks down. this breakdown means that the air becomes highly ionized, enabling it to conduct the charge from the cloud to the ground or another nearby cloud. the ionized air will then emit light due to the recombination of the electrons and atoms to form excited molecules that radiate light. in addition, the large current will heat up the air, resulting in its rapid expansion. these two phenomena account for the appearance of lightning and the sound of thunder. take the breakdown electric field of air to be eb=3.00ă—106n/c. part a estimate the total charge q on the cloud when the breakdown of the surrounding air is reached. express your answer numerically, to three significant figures, using ďµ0=8.85ă—10â’12c2/(nâ‹…m2) .

Asolid cylinder and a cylindrical shell have the same mass, same radius, and turn on frictionless, horizontal axles. the cylindrical shell has light-weight spokes connecting the shell to the axle. a rope is wrapped around each cylinder and tied to blocks of equal masses that are held the same height above the ground. both blocks are released simultaneously. the ropes do not slip. which block hits the ground first? or is it a tie?

Point charges q1=+2.00μc and q2=−2.00μc are placed at adjacent corners of a square for which the length of each side is 1.50 cm . point a is at the center of the square, and point b is at the empty corner closest to q2. take the electric potential to be zero at a distance far from both charges. part a what is the electric potential at point a due to q1 and q2? express your answer with the appropriate units.