MVP ARCHIVE SCIENCE | PHYSICS : Coulomb’s Law - A law that quantitatively expresses the invisible force created by electric charges
Coulomb’s Law - A law that quantitatively expresses the invisible force created by electric charges
Electrically charged objects exert forces on each other.
Positive and negative charges attract each other, while charges of the same type repel each other. The magnitude of this electrostatic force was quantitatively expressed in the 18th century by the French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb as
Coulomb’s Law .
Coulomb’s Law states that the force acting between electric charges is proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. In other words, the greater the charge, the stronger the force, and if the distance doubles, the force weakens to one-fourth.
This law has a mathematical form very similar to Newton’s law of universal gravitation, which describes gravity; however, it differs significantly in that while gravity always acts as an attractive force, electric force can be both attractive and repulsive.
Coulomb’s Law developed into the fundamental concepts of electromagnetism such as electric fields and electric potential, and became an important starting point leading to the theories of electromagnetic induction, Maxwell’s equations, and electromagnetic waves.
Today, it is used as a fundamental law for understanding all electromagnetic phenomena, from the interaction between electrons and atoms to the design of electronic devices.
Basic Information
Proponent: Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1785)
Overview
・Fundamental law expressing the electrostatic force acting between charges
・Force is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
・Can explain both attractive and repulsive forces
Main Applications
・Electric fields and potentials
・Atomic and molecular interactions
・Electrical circuits
・Semiconductors
・General electromagnetism
Subsequent Theories
・Electromagnetism
・Maxwell's Equations
・Electromagnetic Waves
