q 1 and q 2 , both of mass 1 g, obey the following inverse cube law instead of Coulomb's law
In one imaginary universe two chargesF = k e ∣ r 2 1 ∣ 3 q 1 q 2 r 2 1 ^
In this universe, the two charges q 1 = 1 μ C and q 2 = − 1 μ C are placed at − 1 m and 1 m on the x-axis, respectively. The charges are released from rest at t = 0 . Find the time τ in seconds at which they collide.
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Nice solution! I got a much harder differential equation and used Mr. Grapher to help me solve. Pretty much bashed the thing.
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Thank you! It took a long time to both find and write up :)
I solved this numerically via Euler's algorithm. I am curious to know how this can be done analytically.
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This is quite the effort!
A straightforward way is to obtain the equations of motion. We can easily write down the Lagrangian of the system as
L = 2 1 m 1 v 1 2 + 2 1 m 2 v 2 2 − k ( x 1 + x 2 ) 2 q 1 q 2
where x 1 and x 2 are measured from the initial midpoint between the two particles.
We can obviously simplify this by realizing d = x 1 + x 2 and v 1 = v 2 = d ˙ / 2 , which then yields a single equation in d which can be integrated directly.
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This is my approach to this nice problem. Here is a simple diagram.
Consider only the force exerted on the right particle. It is easy to see that F = − k e r 3 q 1 q 2 as F is directed towards the origin. Let K = k e m q 1 q 2 for clarity. Therefore as F = m a , a = − r 3 K But what is the value of r in our problem? By symmetry the motion of the particles must exactly mirror eachother, so it follows that r = 2 x . So a = − ( 2 x ) 3 K = − 8 x 3 K It is well known that ∫ a d x = 2 1 v 2 , so 2 1 v 2 = ∫ − 8 x 3 K d x = 1 6 x 2 K + c Substitute x = 1 , v = 0 into the equation and solve to give c = − 1 6 K . Therefore 2 1 v 2 = 1 6 K ( x 2 1 − 1 ) v = − 8 K ( x 2 1 − x 2 ) Note the minus as the velocity is directed towards the origin. Now solve the differential equation: ∫ − 1 − x 2 x d x = ∫ 8 K d t 1 − x 2 + C = 8 K t
Substitute t = 0 , x = 1 into the equation and solve to give C = 0 .
Therefore 1 − x 2 = 8 K t and at x = 0 , t = K 8 .
Plugging in the variables gives t = ( 1 × 1 0 − 3 ( 9 × 1 0 9 ) × ( 1 × 1 0 − 6 ) × ( 1 × 1 0 − 6 ) ) 8 = 9 8 = 0 . 9 4 2 8 ⋯ = 0 . 9 4 3