Home
Back
Coulomb's Law:
| From: | To: |
Coulomb's Law describes the electrostatic interaction between electrically charged particles. It states that the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
The calculator uses Coulomb's Law:
Where:
Explanation: The force is attractive if charges have opposite signs and repulsive if they have the same sign. The calculator uses absolute values and considers the medium's dielectric constant.
Details: Understanding electric forces is fundamental in electromagnetism, electronics, atomic physics, and engineering applications. It helps predict interactions between charged particles in various systems.
Tips: Enter charges in Coulombs (can be positive or negative), distance in meters (must be positive), and select the medium. The calculator automatically adjusts for the medium's permittivity.
Q1: What Is Coulomb's Constant?
A: Coulomb's constant (k) is approximately 8.98755×10⁹ N·m²/C² in vacuum and represents the proportionality factor in Coulomb's Law.
Q2: How Does Medium Affect Electric Force?
A: Different media have different dielectric constants that reduce the electric force compared to vacuum. Air slightly reduces force, while water reduces it significantly.
Q3: What Are Typical Charge Values?
A: Elementary charge is 1.602×10⁻¹⁹ C. Practical charges range from microcoulombs (10⁻⁶ C) to millicoulombs (10⁻³ C) in everyday applications.
Q4: Is Coulomb's Law Valid For All Distances?
A: Coulomb's Law is valid for point charges and distances much larger than atomic scales. At very small distances, quantum effects become significant.
Q5: How Is Direction Determined?
A: Force direction follows the line connecting the charges: like charges repel, opposite charges attract. The calculator shows magnitude only.