Three electric charges 2q , 2q , -4q are placed at the corners of equilateral triangle of side 'x' . The magnitude of electric dipole moment of the system is

Step-by-step solution

The system of charges can be considered as two dipoles by splitting the -4q charge into two charges of -2q each. One dipole is formed by -2q and 2q along one side of the equilateral triangle, having a dipole moment p₁ = (2q)x = 2qx . The second dipole is formed by the other -2q and 2q along the adjacent side, having a dipole moment p₂ = (2q)x = 2qx . The angle between the two dipole moment vectors is 60^ , which is the interior angle of the equilateral triangle. The magnitude of the resultant dipole moment is given