1. What is Coulomb's Law?

Coulomb's Law describes the electrostatic interaction between electrically charged particles. It states that the force between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses Coulomb's Law equation:

Where:

• \( F \) — Electrostatic force (newtons)
• \( k \) — Coulomb's constant (8.98755×10⁹ N m²/C²)
• \( q_1 \) — First charge (coulombs)
• \( q_2 \) — Second charge (coulombs)
• \( r \) — Distance between charges (meters)

Explanation: The equation calculates the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point charges. Like charges repel, opposite charges attract.

3. Importance of Coulomb's Law

Details: Coulomb's Law is fundamental to understanding electromagnetic interactions and forms the basis for many concepts in electricity, magnetism, and atomic physics.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter all values in appropriate units. Coulomb's constant is pre-filled with the standard value (8.98755×10⁹ N m²/C²). Distance must be greater than zero.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is the value of Coulomb's constant?
A: The standard value is approximately 8.98755×10⁹ N m²/C², which equals 1/(4πε₀) where ε₀ is the vacuum permittivity.

Q2: Does Coulomb's Law work for all charge configurations?
A: It applies exactly only for point charges. For distributed charges, integration or other methods are needed.

Q3: What is the direction of the force?
A: The force acts along the line joining the two charges. Like charges repel, opposite charges attract.

Q4: How does medium affect the force?
A: In different media, the force is reduced by the dielectric constant of the material (F = k × q₁q₂ / (εᵣr²)).

Q5: What are typical charge values?
A: Elementary charge is 1.602×10⁻¹⁹ C. Macroscopic charges are typically in microcoulombs (10⁻⁶ C) to millicoulombs (10⁻³ C).