Trystan Casey
The electric force is the attractive or repulsive interaction between two charged bodies. The electric force is measured in newtons, which is the standard unit of force in the SI system. The electric force is one of several forces that act on objects, and its impact is described by Newton's laws of motion. Coulomb's law, an experimental law of physics, is used to calculate the amount of force between two electrically charged particles at rest. This law, published by French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb in 1785, states that the magnitude of the electric force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What is electric force? | The repulsive or attractive interaction between any two charged bodies |
| What is it measured in? | Newton (N) |
| What is the formula for electric force? | F = kq1q2/r2 |
| What is Coulomb's Law? | An experimental law that quantifies the amount of force between two stationary electrically charged particles |
| What is the electrostatic force also known as? | Coulomb's force |
| What is the value of the electrostatic force of interaction between two point charges? | Directly proportional to the scalar multiplication of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them |
| What is the unit of electric charge? | Coulomb |
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What You'll Learn
Coulomb's Law
Electric force is measured in Newtons. This force is the attractive or repulsive interaction between two charged bodies. The electric force is one of the various forces that act on objects.
The electrostatic force between two point charges always acts along the line joining the two charges. Hence, it is a central force. If the charges have the same sign, the electrostatic force between them makes them repel; if they have different signs, the force between them makes them attract.
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Electrostatic force
The electric force between two stationary charged bodies is known as the electrostatic force. Electrostatic phenomena arise from the forces that electric charges exert on each other. The electric force is not based on the mass of the object but depends on the quantity known as the electric charge.
Electrostatics is a branch of physics that deals with the phenomena and properties of stationary or slow-moving electric charges. Electrostatic phenomena can be as simple as the attraction of plastic wrap to one's hand after it is removed from a package, or as complex as the apparently spontaneous explosion of grain silos.
Coulomb's law is an experimental law that quantifies the amount of force between two stationary electrically charged particles. The electrostatic force of interaction between two point charges is directly proportional to the scalar multiplication of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Coulomb's law was first published in 1785 by French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb.
The electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The force is along the straight line joining the charges. If the two charges have the same sign, the electrostatic force between them is repulsive; if they have different signs, the force between them is attractive.
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Newton's laws of motion
The three laws of motion were first stated by Isaac Newton in his "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica" (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), originally published in 1687.
The first law states that an object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion with the same speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an external force. This tendency to resist changes in the state of motion is called inertia.
The second law defines force to be equal to the change in momentum (mass times velocity) per change in time. In other words, the force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration.
The third law states that when two objects interact, they apply forces to each other that are equal in magnitude but opposite in direction.
Electric force, on the other hand, is the interaction between two charged bodies and is measured in Newtons. Similar to any force, its impact and effects on objects are described by Newton's laws of motion.
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Electric charge
The electric force is the interaction between two charged bodies. This force can be attractive or repulsive. Like charges repel each other, and unlike charges attract each other. An object with no net charge is referred to as electrically neutral.
The SI unit of quantity of electric charge is the coulomb (C), defined as the quantity of charge that passes through the cross section of an electrical conductor carrying one ampere for one second. The coulomb was proposed in 1946 and ratified in 1948. The quantity of electric charge can be directly measured with an electrometer or indirectly with a ballistic galvanometer. The elementary charge is defined as a fundamental constant in the SI, with a value of 1.602 x 10^-19 C. This value was discovered by George Stoney in 1891, who proposed the unit 'electron' for this fundamental unit of electrical charge.
The charge of a macroscopic object is the sum of the electric charges of the particles that it is made up of. This charge is often small because atoms typically have equal numbers of protons and electrons, resulting in a net charge of zero, making the atom neutral. However, during the formation of macroscopic objects, atoms and ions may combine to form structures composed of neutral ionic compounds electrically bound to neutral atoms. Therefore, while macroscopic objects tend towards being neutral overall, they are rarely perfectly net neutral.
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Inverse-square law
Electric force is measured in newtons. Coulomb's law, also known as Coulomb's inverse-square law, is an experimental law of physics that calculates the amount of force between two electrically charged particles at rest. The law states that the magnitude, or absolute value, of the attractive or repulsive electrostatic force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The law is named after French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, who first published it in 1785. Coulomb used a torsion balance to study the repulsion and attraction forces of charged particles. Coulomb's law was essential to the development of the theory of electromagnetism and perhaps even its starting point, as it allowed meaningful discussions of the amount of electric charge in a particle.
The inverse-square law applies when some force, energy, or other conserved quantity is evenly radiated outward from a point source in three-dimensional space. The intensity of radiation passing through any unit area facing the point source is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. This is because the surface area of a sphere (4πr²) is proportional to the square of the radius. As emitted radiation moves away from the source, it spreads out over an area that increases in proportion to the square of the distance from the source.
The inverse-square law is similar to Isaac Newton's inverse-square law of universal gravitation. However, gravitational forces always attract, while electrostatic forces can cause charges to attract or repel. In photography and stage lighting, the inverse-square law is used to determine the "fall off" or difference in illumination on a subject as it moves closer to or further from the light source.
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Frequently asked questions
The electric force is measured in Newton (N).
The repulsive or attractive interaction between any two charged bodies is called electric force.
The electric force between two charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The electric force between stationary charged bodies is known as the electrostatic force or Coulomb's force.
The unit of electric charge in the International System of Units (SI) is the Coulomb (C).
