Coulomb’s Law

Coulomb’s Law is the magnitude of the interactive force or electrical force between two charged
particles that separated by a fixed distance which states that the electrical force between two
charged objects is directly proportional to the product of the quantity of charge on the objects
and inversely proportional to the square of the separation distance between the two objects.
Electrical force has a magnitude similar to most types of forces. The force is attractive if the
charge are of opposite sign while the force is repulsive if the charges are of like sign and it is a
conservation force. There are a variety of factors that influence the magnitude of the electrical
force such as the quantity of charge on one of the particle because the more charged of the
particle, the greater the repulsive force. Second, the quantity of charge on the second particle will
also affect the strength of the repulsive force. Gently rub two balloons with animal fur and they
repel a little. Rub the two particles vigorously to impart more charge to both of them, and they
repel a lot. Finally, the distance between the two particles will have a significant and noticeable
effect upon the repulsive force. The last factor is decreasing of separation distance because the
electrical force is strongest when the particles are closest together. The magnitude of the force
and the distance between the two particles is said to be inversely related.

 q1 q2
Fe  k
r2
Coulomb’s Law, Equation

How a particle gain charge

Objects become electrically charged by gaining or losing electrons, so that they have unequal
numbers of protons and electrons. Gaining excess electrons causes a negative charge, while
losing electrons causes a positive charge. A charged object behaves differently than an object
with neutral charge, attracting objects with an opposite charge and repelling objects with a
similar charge
Charge occurs in discreet units, with each positive or negative charge being equal to some
multiple of the charge of individual protons or electrons. Individual charged particles are known
as ions. There are many processes that cause an object to become electrically charged such as
mechanical processes. For example, rubbing a balloon on hair because objects can be charged by
friction. This is because different elements have different electron affinities. When a substance
with a greater electron affinity rubs against one with a lesser affinity, it steals some of the
electrons, causing both to gain a charge.