Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1 - 1 - Coulombs-Law
1 - 1 - Coulombs-Law
1 - 1 - Coulombs-Law
Constant
9 x109 N.m2/C2
Force
(N) F = K q1 q2 Charges (C)
r2
Distance (m)
Coulomb's Law
1.) Why does electrical force between a pair of charged objects decrease if they
are moved farther apart?
2.) By how much does the electric force between a pair of charged bodies
decrease when their separation is…
(a) …doubled? (b) …tripled?
3.) By what factor does the force between two charged bodies increase if the
separating distance between them is…
(a) …reduced to ½ of its original? (b) …reduced to ¼
its original?
Coulomb's Law
• Double one of the charges
– force doubles
• Change sign of one of the
charges
– force changes direction
• Change sign of both charges
– force stays the same
• Double the distance between
charges
– force four times weaker
• Double both charges
– force four times stronger
Calculating force
• Two balls are each given a static electric charge of one ten-
thousandth (0.0001) of a coulomb.
• Calculate the force between the charges when they are
separated by one-tenth (0.1) of a meter.
• Compare the force with the weight of an average 70 kg
person.
Solutions
1. You are asked to calculate the force and compare it to a
person’s weight.
2. You are given the charges and separation, and the mass of the
person.
3. Use Coulomb’s law, F= -Kq1q2/R2, for the electric force and F=mg
for the weight.
4. Solve:
F = (9×109 N•m2/C2)(0.0001C)(.0001C) ÷ (0.1 m)2 = 9,000 N
The weight of a 70 kg person: F = mg = (70 kg)(9.8 N/kg) = 686 N
The force between the charges is 13.1 times the weight of an
average person (9,000 ÷ 686).
Calculating force
Two positive charges of 6.0 x 10-6 C
are separated by 0.50 m. What is the
magnitude of the force between the
charges? Is this force repulsive or
attractive?
Calculating force
A negative charge of 2.0 x 10-4 C
and a positive charge of 8.0 x 10-4
C are separated by 0.30 m. What
is the magnitude of the force
between the charges? Is this force
repulsive or attractive?
Electric Fields