Question 21.75: The charges of an electron and a positron are -e and +e. The......

The charges of an electron and a positron are -e and +e. The mass of each is 9.11 × 1031^{-31} kg. What is the ratio of the electrical force to the gravitational force between an electron and a positron?

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The electrical force between an electron and a positron separated by a distance r is Fe=ke2/r2 F_e=k e^2 / r^2 . On the other hand, the gravitational force between the two charges is Fg=Gme2/r2 F_g=G m_e^2 / r^2 . Thus, the ratio of the two forces is

FeFg=ke2/r2Gme2/r2=ke2Gme2=(8.99×109Nm2/C2)(1.6×1019C)2(6.67×1011Nm2/kg2)(9.11×1031kg)2=4.16×1042 \frac{F_e}{F_g}=\frac{k e^2 / r^2}{G m_e^2 / r^2}=\frac{k e^2}{G m_e^2}=\frac{\left(8.99 \times 10^9 \,N \cdot m ^2 / C ^2\right)\left(1.6 \times 10^{-19} C \right)^2}{\left(6.67 \times 10^{-11} \,N \cdot m ^2 / kg ^2\right)\left(9.11 \times 10^{-31} \,kg \right)^2}=4.16 \times 10^{42} .

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