State Coulomb’s Law

Coulomb’s Law was first experimented on by Thales. Thales was a Greek philosopher. After many failed attempts, a French scientist, Charles Coulomb, was able to publish a well-researched publication in which he discussed charges, how two charges, if kept in close proximity to each other, can behave differently and that there is an existence of some kind of force when two charged bodies are not far away from each other. This force is experienced by both the charged bodies with equal impact. This force is called electrostatic force, which can attract or repel, depending on the type of authorized body. This informative guide will explain Coulomb’s law and what is an electrostatic force.

What Is Coulomb’s Law?

According to Coulomb’s Law, the electrostatic force between two charges is linked with the separation distance between them. These electrostatic forces can be repulsive in nature or attractive. The attraction and repulsion nature of the energy depends on the charge. The charges should be present at some finite distance from each other and there should be a few assumptions along the way that no other force other than electrostatic force is influencing the charge and force setup.

Coulomb’s law is the predecessor for the Gauss law that is applicable for unsymmetrical bodies or objects. 

The force of repulsion or attraction is directly proportional to the squared value of both the charges divided by the squared value of the distance between them. 

F ∝ q1q2/d2

If we remove the proportionality symbol, we have to add a constant in its place. 

Here comes the role relative permittivity or in simple words, “ dielectric constant for the medium”  k. 

 Q1 and Q2 are two charges and d is the separation distance between the centers of two charges.

One Coulomb Of Charge

When two charges are one meter apart in a vacuum, a unit coulomb is the amount of charge that deflects an equal charge possessing the same sign with a force of 9 * 109 Newton. 

Conditions For Equilibrium

Suppose if there are two charges where one is positively charged and the other one is negatively charged, there will be the force of attraction if they are situated at a finite distance. Suppose we increase the magnitude of one charge’s charge keeping the additional charge unchanged, the attraction force will increase significantly.

There are two charges, A and B, Fa is the force acting on charge A, while Fb is the force acting on charge B. Fa grows in amplitude while Fb lowers when q is slightly shifted towards A. 

The forces Fa and Fb return the charge to its previous spot if q is shifted perpendicular to AB. As a result, the equilibrium is stable for perpendicular displacement.

Limitations Of Coulomb’s Law

1. This law regulates only the stationary point charges.
2. Coulomb’s Law can only be used in situations where the inverse square law is followed.
3. When charges have an arbitrary shape, it is challenging to apply Coulomb’s law because the distance between them cannot be determined.
4. The charge on the giant planets cannot be calculated directly using the law.

Some Extra Points On Coulomb’s Law

1. Two spherical conductors having charges Q1 and Q2 and radius R1 and R2 are put in contact at first, and then the conductors are separated; what will be the charges after connection of the conductors;

Q1 = [R1/(R1 + R2)] (Q1 + Q2) and Q2 = [R2/(R1 + R2)] (Q1 + Q2)

1. The formula for the permeability of free space, the velocity of light and permittivity of free space is  c = 1 / √ (μ0ε0 )

1. Two identical objects made up of the same materials have charges Q1 and Q2 are put to contact and then separated, after which each will have a charge equal to Q1 + Q2 / 2. 

Conclusion

Coulomb’s law (sometimes referred to as Coulomb’s inverse-square law) is a physical law that determines the amount of force between two electrical charges that are static (known as the electrostatic force). Charles-Augustin de Coulomb invented Coulomb’s law in 1785. As a result, the legislation and its formula were named after him. Coulomb’s law is widely applied in various object attraction and repulsion evaluations. According to this law, the repulsive or attractive forces that are felt by the object are inversely proportional to the distance between their center and directly proportional to the product of the magnitude of both the charges. You learned what a coulomb is, what is coulomb’s law and how the electrostatic forces work.