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The question asks what direction an electric field must point in order to keep a drop of oil suspended in between two parallel plates.
Relevant info:
1) oil drop is negatively charged
2) oil drop is suspended between two parallel plates that are powered by a series of batteries to form a capacitor
3) plates are positioned parallel to one another and parallel to the x axis. top plate is positively charged, bottom plate is negatively charged.
Based on this set up, I concluded that because the oil drop is negative, it will be attracted to the top plate and thus the electric field must point upwards in order to suspend the oil drop.
Electric field direction is taken to go from positive to negative correct? So if the electric field points up, the negatively charged oil drop will be attracted downwards thereby suspending the drop in between both plates.
Relevant info:
1) oil drop is negatively charged
2) oil drop is suspended between two parallel plates that are powered by a series of batteries to form a capacitor
3) plates are positioned parallel to one another and parallel to the x axis. top plate is positively charged, bottom plate is negatively charged.
Based on this set up, I concluded that because the oil drop is negative, it will be attracted to the top plate and thus the electric field must point upwards in order to suspend the oil drop.
Electric field direction is taken to go from positive to negative correct? So if the electric field points up, the negatively charged oil drop will be attracted downwards thereby suspending the drop in between both plates.