COULOMB’S LAW

The Electrostatic Force of interaction between two static point electric

charges is directly proportional to the product of the charges, inversely
proportional to the source of the distance between them and acts along
the straight line joining the two charges.

To estimate the charge induced on each one of the two identical styro
foam balls or pith balls suspended in a vertical plane by making use of
Coulomb’s law.
AIM OF THE EXPERIMENT
To estimate the charge induced on each one of the two identical styro
foam balls or pith balls suspended in vertical plane by making use of
Coulomb’s law.

APPARATUS REQUIRED
• SMALL SIZE IDENTICAL BALLS (PITCH OR SOFT PLASTIC)
• PHYSICAL BALANCE OR ELECTRICAL BALANCE
• HALF METER SCALE
• GLASS ROD
• COTTON THREAD
• SILK CLOTH
• SMALL STAND

THEORY
The fundamental concept of electrostatics is electric charge. We are all familiar
with the fact that rubbing two materials together –for example, a rubber comb
on cat fur- produces a “static” charge. The process is called charging by friction.
Surprisingly, the exact physics of the process of charging by friction is poorly
understood. However, it is known that the making and breaking of contact
between the two materials transfers the charge. The charged particles which
make up the universe come in three kinds : positive, negative and neutral.
Neutral particles do not interact with electrical forces . Charged particles exert
electrical and magnetic forces on one another, but if the charges are
stationary ,the mutual force is very simple in form and is given by coulomb’s law
Where F is the electrical force between any two stationary charged particles
with charges q1 and q2(measured in coulombs), r is the separation distance
between the charges (measured in meters) , and k is a constant of nature (equal
to 8.9875517873681764×109 N m2 C−2 or 9×109 N m2 C−2 in SI units) The
study of the Coulomb forces among arrangements of stationary charged
particles is called electrostatics. Coulomb’s Law describes three properties of
the electrical force:
1. Force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the
charges and is directed along the straight line that connects their centres.
2. The forces is proportional to the products of the magnitude of the charges.
3. Two particles of the same charge exert a repulsive force on each other, and
two particles of opposite charge exert an attractive force on each other.

Most of the common objects we deal with in the macroscopic (human sized)
world are electrically neutral. They are composed of atoms of atom that consists
of negatively charged electrons moving in quantum motion around a positively
charged nucleus. The total negative charge of the electrons is equal to the total
positive charge . So the atoms as well as the entire object don’t have net
electrical charge. If we charge something by friction , there only occurs the
transfer of charges from one to another object. A neutral particle is not affected
by electrical forces. A charged object can attract neutral object by the method of
electrical polarization. For example, if a negatively charged rod is brought close
to an isolated neutral insulator, the electrons in the atoms of the insulator will
be pushed slightly away from the negative rod, and the positive nuclei will be
attracted slightly towards the negative rod. There occurs induced polarization
but net charge is always zero.
The polarization of charge in the insulator is small but now its positive charge is
a little closer to the negatively charged rod, and its negative charge is a bit far
away. Thus the positive charge is attracted to the rod more strongly than the
negative charge is repelled, and there is an overall net attraction.
If the negatively charged rod is brought near an isolated , neutral conductor ,
the conductor will also be polarized. In the conductor , electrons are free to
move through the material , and some of them are repelled over to the opposite
surface of the conductor, leaving the surface near the negative rod with a net
positive charge. The conductor has been polarized and will now be attracted to
the charged rod.
Now if we connect a conducting wire or any other conducting material from the
polarized conductor to the ground, we provide a “path” through which the
electrons can move. Electrons will actually move along this path to the ground.
If the wire or path is subsequently disconnected ,the conductor has been
charged without actually being touched with the charged rod. This process is
called charging by induction.

Let the force between two stationary charges be F

F α q1q2

F α 1/r2
From the above two expressions,

F= k q1q2/r2

=1/4πε0 q1q2/r2

Where k = 9 x 109 Nm2/C2

And is called absolute permittivity of free space or vacuum =8.854 x 10-12

C2 /N/ m2

Let the two identical pith balls (B1 and B2) of mass ‘m’ are hanged from
strings of length ‘l’ each .

When the two balls are given charge q1 and q2 respectively the electrostatic
force acting between

Them will be ,

F= k q1q2/r2

Because of this force, they are separated by a distance ‘r’ as shown in the
figure.
Force acting on ball B1
(i)Weight of ball B1 , W= mg
(same as that of B2)
This can be resolved in two components mgcos0 and
mgsin0 .
Component mgsin0 is the restoring component.
In state of equilibrium
Electrostatic force = mgsin0
Or , F = k q1q2/r2 = mgsin0
From OBC , sin0 =r/2l
k q1q2/r2 = mg r/2l

If both the identical pith balls have same

charge on them , then q1=q2=q
K q2 / r2 = mgr. /2l
q= √mgr3/2kl
By putting the values of ‘m’ , ‘r’ , ‘l’, ‘g’ and ‘k’ we can estimate the charge on
the two
pith identically charged pith balls

PROCEDURE

1. MEASURE THE MASS (M) OF EACH THE TWO IDENTICAL PITH BALLS USING A PHYSICAL
BALANCE.

2. HANG THE TWO BALLS FROM A RIGID SUPPORT USING LIGHT SILK OR COTTON THREADS OF
SAME LENGTH ‘L’.
3. TAKE A GLASS ROD AND RUB IT WITH A SILK CLOTH TO INDUCE CHARGE ON THE ROD. NOW
TOUCH THE GLASS ROD WITH BOTH THE PITH BALLS TOGETHER SO THAT EQUAL CHARGE IS
INDUCED ON BOTH THE BALLS.

4. WHEN LEFT FREELY, THE TWO BALLS WILL REPEL EACH OTHER AND WHEN THEY ARE AT REST
SEPARATED AWAY FROM EACH OTHER , MEASURE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM.

5. TO CHANGE THE CHARGE ON BALL, TAKE THIRD UNCHARGED BALL TOUCH IT TO ANY ONE OF
THE TWO BALLS AND TAKE THE THIRD BALL AWAY, AGAIN MEASURE THE DISTANCE BETWEEN
THE TWO HANGING BALLS.

OBSERVATIONS
Mass of the pith balls m= 01
gm.
Radius of the ball a= 0.1 cm.
Length of thread l= 9.5 cm.
Sl.no: Charge on ball Charge on Distance between
b1 ball b2 the two balls (in cm)
01.
02.
03.
04.

CALCULATIONS
Charge on the pith ball q = √mgr3/2kl
CONCLUSION
The charge on pith balls in different cases are________ C.

PRECAUTIONS

1. The suspended balls should not be touched by any conducting body.

2. Rub the glass rod properly with silk rod to produce more charge.
3. Weight the mass of the balls accurately

Coulomb's Law
Coulomb's Law: According to this law, "The electrical force acting
between two charged objects is equal to the product of such charged
particles and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
between them. The force acting can be attractive or repulsive. Such force
is also called an electrostatic force. It quantifies the amount of force
between the two charged particles or objects. This concept was first
formulated by French Physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb in the year
1785. This force acts along a straight line. If the charged object has the
same sign then the force acting is repulsive and if the charged object has
the opposite sign then the force acting is attractive in nature.
Coulomb's Law Formula
As we know, coulomb's law is directly proportional to the product of two
charged objects and inversely proportional to the distance between them.
Mathematically, it can be written as-

F ∝ q1q2/d²

F = 1/4π€° x q1q2/d²

Where,

After removing the proportion we get a proportionality constant of

1/4π€° which is equal to the value of 9×10^9 N-m²/C².

q1 and q2 are the two charged bodies.

d² is the square of the distance between the two bodies.

Units, Dimensions and Value of €°

€° = 1/4πF x q1q2/d²

As SI Unit of charge is coulomb(C)

Therefore,

Unit of €° = 1CC/ Nm² = C²N^-1m^-2

Dimensions of €° = [M^-1L^-3T^4A^2]

Value of €°= 8.85 x 10^-12 C²N^-1m^-2

Vector Form of Coulomb's Law

There are two types of quantities, that is, scalar and vector quantities.
Scalar quantity determines the magnitude only whereas Vector quantity
determines the direction and magnitude. As we know force is the vector
quantity which has both magnitude and direction. Hence Coulomb's law is
in vector form.
Let us assume that there are two charges q1 and q2 respectively. Since
both the charges are of the same sign, the force acting will be a repulsive
force between them. Let the force on the q1 charge due to q2 be F12 and
the force on the q2 charge due to the q1 charge be F21. The force on q1
due to q2 is equal and opposite to the force acting on q2 due to q1. Thus,
Coulomb's law obeys Newton’s third law of motion.
F12 = -F21

Therefore, the force acting in vector form is

F12 = 1/4π€° x q1q2/d² = -F21

Application of Coulomb's Law

The application of Coulomb's law is-

 In order to calculate the distance and force between the two

charges.
 Coulomb's law also helps to calculate the electric field.

Limitations of Coulomb's Law

The limitation of Coulomb's law is-

 The charged object must have a spherically symmetric distribution

(e.g. point charges, or a charged metal sphere).
 The charges should not overlap (e.g. they must be distinct point
charges).
 The charge body must be stationary with respect to the other body.