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AN INSTITUTE OF PURE EDUCATION Physics Class-12th

Coulomb’s Law Physics By..... Devashish Srivastava

1.0 Electric Charge :

Charge is the property of matter due to which it produces and experiences a force in the electromagnatic field.
Or
Charge is the property associated with matter due to which it produces and experiences electrical and magnetic
effects.
Types of charge : charges are two types
(a) Positive charge : It is the deficiency of electrons as compared to proton.

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(b) Negative charge : It is the excess of electrons as compared to proton.
SI unit of charge : Ampere × Second or Coulomb and Dimension : [A T]

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Practical units of charge are ampere × hour ( = 3600 C) and faraday ( = 96500 C)
1 C = 3 × 109 stat coulomb, 1 absolute-coulomb = 10 C, 1 Faraday = 96500 C
Note : Charge of fundametal particles (i.e. electron, proton etc.) is the internal characteristics of the particle.
Whole charge on the body depends on the number of protons & electrons inside the body.

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1.1 Properties of charge :
(a) Charge is a scalar quantity : It represents excess or deficiency of electrons.
(b) Charge is transferable : If a charged body is put in contact with an another body, then charge can be transferred
to another body.
(c) Charge is always associated with mass :
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(i) Charge can not exist without mass though mass can exist without charge.
(ii) So the presence of charge itself is a convencing proof of existence of mass.
(iii) In charging, the mass of a body changes.
(iv) When body is given positive charge, its mass decreases.
(v) When body is given negatic charge, its mass increases.
(d) Charge is quantised :
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The quantization of electric charge is the property by virtue of which all free charges are integral multiple of a basic
unit of charge represented by e. Thus charge q of a body is always given by
q = ne ; n = positive integer or negative integer
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The quantization of electric charge is that an electron or proton carries.

Note : Charge on a proton = (-) charge on an electron = 1.6 × 10-19 C
(e) Charge is Conserved :
In an isolated system, total charges does not change with time, though individual charge may change i.e. charge can
neither be created nor destroyed. Conservation of charge is also found to hold good in all types of reactions either
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chemical (atomic) or nuclear. No exceptions find out for this concept.

(f) Charge is invariant :
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Charge is independent of frame of reference. i.e. charge on a body does not change whatever be its speed.
(g) Accelerated charge radiates energy :
(i) When velocity of positive charge v = 0, then positive charge produce only electric field.
(ii) When velocity of positive charge v = constant, the positive charge produce electric field and magnatic field.
(iii) When velocity of positive charge v = variable, the positive charge produce electric field, magnetic field and also
radiates energy.

1.2 Conductors & Insulators :

Conductors : Materials in which the electric charge flow easily, then this type of material is known as conductors.
Example : silver, copper and gold etc.
H.O.: C-86 AWAS VIKAS, MAIN ROAD SHIVAJI NAGAR, JHANSI (UP) [+919452626456, +919956566713]
BRANCH : NEAR VIKASH BHAWAN, BKD CROSSING, JHANSI (UP) [+919151088666, +917839221656]
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 X-SEED CLASSES
AN INSTITUTE OF PURE EDUCATION Physics Class-12th

Coulomb’s Law Physics By..... Devashish Srivastava

Insulators: Materials in which the electric charge does not flow easily, then this type of material is known as insulator.
Example : rubber, dry wood, plastic etc.

1.3 Methods of charging :

(a) Friction
If we rub one body with another body then electrons are transfered from one body to the other. Cloud are
charged by friction and some examples are given below.....

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Postitive charge Negative charge
Glass rod Silk cloth
Wollen cloth Rubber shoes, Amber Plastic objects

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Dry hair Comb
Cat skin Ebonite rod

(b) Electrostatic induction

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The process in which a charge object induces charge in an uncharged conductor placed near it, without touching
the conductor. This is called charging by electrostatic induction. The charge on the object is called inducing charge and
that induced on the conductor is called induced charge. There are three cases are given below by which electroinduction
induction process is understand.
(i) Let a positively charged object A is brought close to an uncharged metal rod BC on an insulating stand, but does
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not touch it (in figure a). The free electrons in BC are attracted by the positive charge of A and collect at the end of B.
Thus a negative charge is induced at the end B and hence an equalpositive charge at the end C.
(ii) The end C (in figure b) is now touched with a finger. The positive charge at C flows through the finger and human
body to earth while the negative charge at B remains there bound due to the attraction of A.
(iii) If now the finger is now removed and then A is taken away, the negative charge spreads all over the surface of
BC (in figure c). The rod BC is thus charged by electrostatic induction.
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(c) Conduction
If a positively charged conductor is made to touch a second unarged conductor, the free electrons in the second
conductor are attracted to the positively charged conductor and some pass over to it. Since the second conductor is
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now missing some of its electrons, it will have a net positive charge. This process is called “ charging by conduction”.
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1.4 Detection and Measurement of Electric charge

Charge can be detected and measured with the help of gold leaf electroscope electrometer, voltameter and ballstic-
galvanometer.

1.5 Coulomb’s Law

The electrostatic force of interaction between two static point electric charges is directly propotional to the product
of the charges, inversely proportional to the square of the distacne between them and acts along the straight line joining
the two charges.
If two points charges q1 and q2 separated by a distance r. Let F be the electrostatic force between these two
charges. According to columb’s law.

H.O.: C-86 AWAS VIKAS, MAIN ROAD SHIVAJI NAGAR, JHANSI (UP) [+919452626456, +919956566713]
BRANCH : NEAR VIKASH BHAWAN, BKD CROSSING, JHANSI (UP) [+919151088666, +917839221656]
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 X-SEED CLASSES
AN INSTITUTE OF PURE EDUCATION Physics Class-12th

Coulomb’s Law Physics By..... Devashish Srivastava

1
F  q1 q2 and F 
r2

F 2 on1 F 1o n 2 F 2 o n1 F 1o n 2

kq1q2

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Fe 
r2

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2
 1 9 Nm 
where  k   9 10 
 4  0 C 2  , k = coulomb’s constant or electrostatic force constant
1.6 Coulomb’s law in vector form
kq1 q2

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F 12 = force on q1 due to q2 = r 21
r2

1.7 Coulomb’s law in terms of position vector

kq1 q2
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F 12  3
(r 1  r 2 )
r1  r 2

1.8 Principle of Superposition

Coulomb’s force is a two body interaction, i.e., electrical force between two points charges is independent of
presence or absence of other charges and so the principle of superposition is valid. Hence, force on a charged particle
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due to number of point charges is the resultant of forces due to individual points charges, i.e.,
F1  F 12  F 13  ... F IN
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Note : Nuclear force is many body interaction, so principle of superposition is not valid in case of nuclear force.
When a number of charges are interacting, the total force on a given charge is vector sum of the forces exerted on
it by all other charges individually
kq0 q1 kq0 q2 kq q kq q
F 2
 2  ............  02 n 1  02 n
r1 r2 rn 1 rn
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n
a1
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In Vector form it is written as F  kq0  r

i 1 r12
1.9 Equilibrium of charged particles
In equilibrium net electric force on every charged particle is zero. The equilibrium of a charged particle, under the
action of Coulombian forces alone can never be stable.

2.0 Equilibrium of three point charges

kQ1q KQ2 q
(i) Two charges must be of like nature as Fq  x 2  0
r  x 2
H.O.: C-86 AWAS VIKAS, MAIN ROAD SHIVAJI NAGAR, JHANSI (UP) [+919452626456, +919956566713]
BRANCH : NEAR VIKASH BHAWAN, BKD CROSSING, JHANSI (UP) [+919151088666, +917839221656]
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 X-SEED CLASSES
AN INSTITUTE OF PURE EDUCATION Physics Class-12th

Coulomb’s Law Physics By..... Devashish Srivastava

kQ1Q2 KQ1q
(ii) Third charge should be of unike nature as FQ 1   2 0
r2 x

Q1  Q1Q2
Therefore x = r and q  r
Q1  Q2 ( Q1  Q2 ) 2
2.1 Equilibrium of symmetric geometrical point charged system

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Value of Q at centre of which system to be in state of equilibrium

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q  q (2 2  1)

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(i) For equilateral triangle Q = (ii) For square Q =
3 4
2.2 Equilibrium of suspended point charge system
For equilibrium position
2
kQ 2 Fe 3 2kQl
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T Cos  = mg and T Sin  = Fe = 2  tan  = = x 
x mg mg

If  is small then

x x kQ 2 kq 2
tan   Sin  =  = 2  2
2l 2l x mg 4 l
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2.3 If whole set up is taken into an artificial satellite then

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kq 2
T = Fe = 2
4l
2.4 Importance of coulomb’s law
There are some important points about the coulomb’s law, given by.....
(a) Coulomb’s law is based on the experimental results, it can not be established theoretically.
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(b) This law is hold for only point charges.

(c) This law is applicable for charges at rest, not for charges of motion
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Note : Because charge at rest produce electric field only and due to motion charge produces electric field and
magnetic field both.
(d) Both the charges exert equal and opposite forces on each other.
(e) Force acting between two charges is a central force which acts along the line joining the two charges.
(f) The force between two charges is not changed by the presence of other charges.
(g) The force between two charges depend on the magnitude of charges, distance between them and also depend on
the nature of medium between them.

H.O.: C-86 AWAS VIKAS, MAIN ROAD SHIVAJI NAGAR, JHANSI (UP) [+919452626456, +919956566713]
BRANCH : NEAR VIKASH BHAWAN, BKD CROSSING, JHANSI (UP) [+919151088666, +917839221656]
Website : www.xseedclasses.com