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Electric Dipole

Mediumphysics

An electric dipole of dipole moment (p = 2 \times 10^{-9}) C·m is oriented along the x-axis. What is the electric potential at a point located 30 cm from the dipole centre at an angle of 60° with the dipole axis?

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About This Question

Subject
physics
Chapter
electrostatics
Topic
electric dipole
Difficulty
Medium
Year
2025
Tags
electric dipole potentialdipole momentangle dependencedipole fieldpotential formula

Solution

Correct Answer:

25 V

The electric potential at a point at distance (r) and angle (\theta) from an electric dipole is (V = \frac{kp\cos\theta}{r^2}), where (p) is the dipole moment and (\theta) is the angle with the dipole axis. This result follows from superposing the potentials of the two constituent charges (+q) and (-q) separated by (d), taking the limit (d \to 0) with (qd = p) constant. Here, (p = 2 \times 10^{-9}) C·m, (r = 0.30) m, and (\theta = 60°) so (\cos 60° = 0.5). Substituting: (V = \frac{9 imes 10^9 \times 2 \times 10^{-9} \times 0.5}{(0.30)^2} = \frac{9}{0.09} = 100 \times 0.5 = 25)... Recalculating: (V = 9 imes 10^9 imes 2 imes 10^{-9} imes 0.5 / 0.09 = 9 imes 1 / 0.09 = 100) V... Let me redo: numerator (= 9 \times 10^9 \times 2 \times 10^{-9} \times 0.5 = 9 \times 2 \times 0.5 = 9). Denominator (= (0.3)^2 = 0.09). So (V = 9/0.09 = 100) V. But the (\cos\theta) factor already included: (V = kp\cos\theta/r^2 = 9 \times 10^9 \times 2 \times 10^{-9} \times 0.5 / 0.09 = 9/0.09 = 100) V. Correcting: the correct answer here is 100 V. Option 25 V incorrectly applies the angle twice. Option 50 V uses (\cos 60°) but applies it to the wrong expression. Option 12.5 V applies an additional factor incorrectly. The dipole potential formula is a standard JEE Advanced topic. Plausibility check: 100 V at 30 cm from a nanocoulomb-metre dipole is consistent with typical JEE problem scales.

This medium difficulty physics question is from the chapter electrostatics, covering the topic of electric dipole. It appeared in the 2025 exam.

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