Q&A: What is the magnitude of the force that the field exerts on the electron?

Question by Brittney J: What is the magnitude of the force that the field exerts on the electron?

The electric field in the copper wire of a household circuit is oriented along the wire, so that it pushes electrons through the circuit. (In alternating current, the direction of this electric field reverses 120 times a second.) A typical value for the field strength is 0.00850 N/C. The charge of a mobile electron in the wire is âˆ'1.60×10âˆ'19 C.




Best answer:

Answer by Madhukar
For the given field strength 0.00850 N/C acting on the electron,
Force
= Field strength x charge
= 0.00850 x ( - 1.60 x 10^(-19) ) N
= - 1.36 x 10^(-19) N.
[Note: In AC, field strength continuously changes from 0, increasing to a maximum value in one direction, then decreasing back to 0 and increasing to the same maximum value in the other direction. As a result, force acting on the electron also fluctuates accordingly.]

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