Belchez, Ivy STEM – 2

 Coulomb's law states that:

 Coulomb's law, or Coulomb's inverse-square law, is a law of physics that describes

force interacting between static electrically charged particles. In
its scalar form, the law is:

In the formula where ke is Coulomb's constant (ke = 8.99×109 N m2 C−2), q1 and q2 are the signed

magnitudes of the charges, and the scalar r is the distance between the charges. The force of
interaction between the charges is attractive if the charges have opposite signs (i.e., F is
negative) and repulsive if like-signed (i.e., F is positive).

The magnitude of the electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion 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 force is along the straight line joining them. 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.

Examples:

 When combing on our hair, the comb starts attracting pieces of paper. Attractive forces
between comb and pieces of paper are even strong to suspend the paper. Electric
forces also come into effect when glass or rubber is rubbed against the fur or silk. These
devices are said to be electrified or electrically charged. 

 Balloon that sticks to the wall. Coulomb's law says that distance is inversely proportional
to force so since the opposite charges are closer together, the force of attraction is
stronger than the force of repulsion, therefore the balloon sticks to the wall!

 Benjamin Franklin struck by lightning. Because, the kite has some attractive forces in it.

 Electric flux

In electromagnetism, it is the measure of flow of the electric field through a given

area.

 An electric "charge," such as a single electron in space, has an electric field surrounding
it. In pictorial form, this electric field is shown as a dot, the charge, radiating "lines of
flux." These are called Gauss lines. Electric Flux Density is the amount of electric flux,
the number of "lines," passing through a given area. Units are Gauss/square meter.
 Belchez, Ivy STEM – 2

Electric flux is proportional to the number of electric field lines going through a normally

perpendicular surface. If the electric field is uniform, the electric flux passing through a
surface of vector area S is where E is the electric field
(having units of V/m), E is its magnitude, S is the area of the surface, and θ is the angle
between the electric field lines and the normal (perpendicular) to S.

Examples:

 As the electrical machines given an electrical energy to run, when an electric current
flows through any conductor produces electromagnetic field.

 In some appliances such as electric fan, they have some electric motors inside of it, the
electric motors use the electromagnetic force between a magnet and a current carrying
coil to produce movement.

 The common part of a vehicle such as the electric generators, the electric generators
use the electromagnetic force between a magnet and a moving coil to generate electrical
energy.

 Induced Charges

Induction charging is a method used to charge an object without actually

touching the object to any other charged object. An understanding of charging by
induction requires an understanding of the nature of a conductor and an understanding
of the polarization process.

 Charged and neutral objects (not touching) are attracted because electrons move in the
neutral object.

 Electrons move toward a +ve charged object and away from a –ve charged one.

Examples:

 A negatively charged balloon is brought near a neutral wall, causing an induced

charge separation in the wall. The wall becomes temporarily charged by induction.

 The buildup of dust on the screen of a television or computer monitor. When a

computer monitor or television screen is turned on it begins to build up a charge.
Belchez, Ivy STEM – 2

When a neutral dust particle comes near the screen, the charge on the screen
induces an opposite charge on the near side of the dust particle and a charge,
similar to that on the screen, on the far side. The result is that the dust is attracted to
the screen.

 An electrostatic lifting apparatus is used in forensics to create a copy of a footprint

from a crime scene. The film is then electrostatically charged. The dust and dirt
particles from the footprint are attracted to the black side of the film. The dust
particles “jump” off the floor onto the black film, revealing the details of the footprint.
Now investigators have a copy of the footprint on the film that they can take to a
laboratory to analyze.