Coulomb's Law and Its Applications

Coulomb's Law is a fundamental principle that describes the electrostatic force between two point charges. It states:

Coulomb's Law: The electrostatic force (F) between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges (q₁ and q₂) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance (r) between them. Mathematically, it is expressed as:

F = k * (|q₁ * q₂|) / r²

where k is Coulomb's constant (k ≈ 8.99 x 10⁹ N m² C^-2).

Applications:

• Calculating Force: To find the force between two charges, identify the values of q₁, q₂, and r, and substitute them into the formula.
• Direction of Force: The direction of the force is along the line joining the two charges. If the charges are like (both positive or both negative), the force is repulsive. If the charges are unlike (one positive and one negative), the force is attractive.

Example:

If q₁ = 2 x 10^-6 C, q₂ = 3 x 10^-6 C, and r = 0.05 m, the force F can be calculated as:

F = (8.99 x 10⁹ N m² C^-2) * (|2 x 10^-6 C * 3 x 10^-6 C|) / (0.05 m)² ≈ 21.6 N