GATE EE 2017 Set 1 — Question 5
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Electromagnetic Fields → Electrostatics → Coulomb's Law & E-Field
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Question
Consider an electron, a neutron and a proton initially at rest and placed along a straight line such that the neutron is exactly at the center of the line joining the electron and proton. At , the particles are released but are constrained to move along the same straight line. Which of these will collide first?
Correct answer
(D) electron and neutron
Solution
The electron and proton exert equal and opposite attractive electrostatic forces on each other (). The neutron, being electrically neutral, experiences no electrostatic force. The acceleration of each particle is given by . Since the mass of the electron ( kg) is much smaller than the mass of the proton ( kg), the electron's acceleration is significantly higher (). Starting from rest, the time taken to travel a distance is . Because the electron has a much larger acceleration, it will reach the neutron (located at the midpoint) much faster than the proton will. Therefore, the electron and neutron will collide first.
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