High School

A conducting rod is free to slide on two parallel rails with negligible friction. At the right end of the rails, a voltage source of strength \( V \) in series with a resistor of resistance \( R \) makes a closed circuit together with the rails and the rod. The rails and the rod are considered perfect conductors, and the rails extend to infinity on the left. The arrangement is shown in the figure.

Assuming that the rails have no resistance, what is the most accurate qualitative description of the motion of the rod?

Answer :

Since there is no friction on the rails, the rod will experience a force due to the voltage source and the resistor.

This force will cause the rod to move to the right, towards the resistor. As the rod moves, it will experience a change in voltage due to the resistor, which will result in a decrease in the force driving the motion. Eventually, the force and the resistance will balance each other out, resulting in a constant velocity motion.
However, since the rails extend to infinity on the left, there will be no external force to stop the rod from moving. Therefore, the rod will continue to move indefinitely in the right direction with a constant velocity. It is important to note that this motion is only possible because there is no friction between the rod and the rails. If there was friction, the motion of the rod would eventually come to a stop due to the dissipation of energy.

To learn more about friction click here https://brainly.com/question/13000653

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