Coulomb’s law is a fundamental principle in physics that describes the electrostatic interaction between charged particles.
It states that the force between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Mathematically, Coulomb’s law is expressed as:
F = k * (q1 * q2) / r^2
where:
- F is the electrostatic force between the two charges,
- q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges of the two objects,
- r is the distance between the centers of the charges,
- k is the electrostatic constant, also known as Coulomb’s constant, which is approximately 8.99 x 10^9 N·m^2/C^2.
Coulomb’s law applies to both positive and negative charges. If the charges have the same sign (both positive or both negative), the force between them is repulsive, pushing the objects apart. If the charges have opposite signs (one positive and one negative), the force is attractive, pulling the objects towards each other.