Question

The uniform electric field of a parallel plate capacitor means that the equipotential lines are spaced evenly between the plates. For example if one plate is at 10 V and the other is at -10 V, and the plates are separated by 1 millimeters, you could draw equipotential lines separated by 1 micro meters and each would differ by 0.02 Volts. How much work would it take to move an electron 5 micro meters in the direction of the negative plate? Express your answer in 10^-20 units.

Answer 1

In order to find how much work needs to be applied, we need to use the formula

$W=q\Delta V$

Since we are dealing with an electron, the charge is 1.60217663 × 10^-19

Since we are trying to find the how much work we have to do if we are moving 5 micro meters, we need to multiply 5 by 0.02 Volts to get a change in voltage of .1 Volts.

W= 1.60217663 × 10^-19 * .1 = 1.60217663 × 10^-20 Joules