Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A thin plastic hoop of radius m carries charge spread evenly along it, with nC on each metre of its length. Find the total charge on the hoop. Find the field on its axis m from the centre. What field would a point charge of the same total size, at the centre, give at that place?
A ring on its axis has , greatest at . A rod on its perpendicular bisector has , and a very long wire has . The linear charge density is . A half ring of radius has at its centre.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Given. nC/m, m, m.
Step 1. The charge. .
Step 2. The ring field. , and . So .
Step 3. A point charge. .
Answer: nC, N/C along the axis, and N/C.
Check. The ring field is smaller than the point-charge field. The pieces of the ring are farther from P than the centre is. Their fields also do not all point along the axis.
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