Newton's universal gravitation was considered a huge step forward for science. Several scientists hypothesized that static electricity worked in a similar fashion, but the French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb is given credit for first publishing the law in 1785.
$$ F = \frac{k_{e}q_{1}q_{2}}{r^{2}}$$
\(F\) = electrostatic force [N, newton, kg m/s²] vector\(k_e\) = 8.987 × 109 = Coulomb's constant [N m²/C²]
\(q\) = charge [C, Coulomb]
\(r\) = distance between the center of each charge [m, meters]
Valid for stationary point source charges at macroscopic sizes
Coulomb's law is a good approximation of nature, but like most classical equations it has its limits.
Coulomb's law assumes that force is applied instantly at a distance. This works fine for stationary charges, but when a charge is moving it doesn't take into account the delay we see from the speed of light. This issue was fixed by Maxwell's equations in 1861.
Coulomb's law is inaccurate at the atomic scale. A better model of charged particles comes from quantum electrodynamics. To learn more I recommend QED, a book by Richard Feynman.
solution
$$\mu=\text{micro}=10^{-6}$$ $$F = \frac{k_{e}q_{1}q_{2}}{r^{2}} $$ $$F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9})(4.30 \times 10^{-6})(10.08 \times 10^{-6})}{0.03^{2}} $$ $$F = 432.8 \, \mathrm{N}$$What direction is the force?
strategy
opposite charges have an attractive force
negative charges have a repulsive force
positive charges have a repulsive force
neutral charges have no force
solution
Each charge is positive, so the electrostatic force will push the charges away from each other.
charge = −1.602 × 10−19 C
mass = 9.109 × 10−31 kg
charge = +1.602 × 10−19 C
mass = 1.672 × 10−27 kg
Example: What is the electrostatic force between an electron and a proton at 1 meter?
solution
$$F = \frac{k_{e}q_{1}q_{2}}{r^{2}} $$ $$F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9})(1.6 \times 10^{-19})(1.6 \times 10^{-19})}{1^{2}} $$ $$F = 2.3 \times 10^{-28} \, \mathrm{N} $$ $$\text{towards each other}$$What is the force of gravity between a proton and an electron at 1 m?
universal gravitation equation
$$F = \frac{GM_{1}M_{2}}{r^{2}}$$ $$G = 6.674 \times 10^{-11}$$solution
$$F = \frac{(6.674\times 10^{-11})(9.1\times 10^{-31})(1.672\times 10^{-27})}{(1)^{2}}$$ $$F = 1.01 \times 10^{-67} \, \mathrm{N}$$ $$ 10^{-28} > 10^{-67} $$The gravity between a proton and electron is weaker than the electrostatic force by about 39 orders of magnitude!
Order of magnitude usually means how many digits a number has. With scientific notation it's just the power of 10. So in this case the electrostatics force has an order of magnitude of -28 and gravity has -67, so the difference is 39.
solution
$$ n=\text{nano}=10^{-9} \quad \quad m=\text{milli} = 10^{-3}$$ $$ F = \frac{k_{e}q_{1}q_{2}}{r^2} $$ $$ F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9}) (20 \times 10^{-9})(-20 \times 10^{-9})}{(5 \times 10^{-3})^{2}} $$ $$ F = 0.144\, \mathrm{N}$$Is the electrostatic force on the balloon enough to overcome the force of gravity, and keep the balloon from falling?
solution
$$F_g = mg $$ $$F_g = (0.004)(9.8) $$ $$F_g = 0.0392 \, \mathrm{N} $$$$F_e = 0.144 \, \mathrm{N} \quad F_g = 0.0392\, \mathrm{N}$$ $$F_e > F_g$$
The electrostatic force could potentially support the balloon. Try it out with a real balloon.
This is a simulation of Coulomb's law (like charges repel, opposites attract). You can see the randomly placed charges spontaneously form "atoms". Try poking the simulation with your mouse. Right click adds positive charge, middle mouse adds negative charge.
This simulation only approximates how protons and electrons interact, it doesn't include the nuances of quantum mechanics.
solution
strategy
Forces from multiple charges can be calculated separately with Coulomb's law. Then we can combine the forces and find the acceleration with Newton's 2nd law.
$$\sum F = ma $$Don't forget to convert the μ = micro = 10-6
solution: q1
$$ F = \frac{k_{e}q_{1}q_{2}}{r^2} $$ $$ F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9})(-3\times 10^{-6 })(3\times 10^{-6})}{0.20^2} $$ $$ F = 2.02 \, \mathrm{N} \quad \text{right}$$$$ F = \frac{k_{e}q_{1}q_{3}}{r^2} $$ $$ F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9})(-3\times 10^{-6 })(-3\times 10^{-6})}{(0.20+0.15)^2} $$ $$ F = 0.660 \, \mathrm{N} \quad \text{left}$$
$$\sum F = ma $$ $$a = \frac{\sum F}{m} $$ $$a = \frac{2.02 - 0.660}{2} $$ $$a = 0.68 \, \mathrm{\frac{m}{s^2}} \quad \text{right}$$
solution: q2
$$ F = \frac{k_{e}q_{2}q_{1}}{r^2} $$ $$ F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9})(3\times 10^{-6 })(-3\times 10^{-6})}{0.20^2} $$ $$ F = 2.02 \, \mathrm{N} \quad \text{left}$$$$ F = \frac{k_{e}q_{2}q_{3}}{r^2} $$ $$ F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9})(3\times 10^{-6 })(-3\times 10^{-6})}{(0.15)^2} $$ $$ F = 3.59 \, \mathrm{N} \quad \text{right}$$
$$\sum F = ma $$ $$a = \frac{\sum F}{m} $$ $$a = \frac{2.02-3.59}{2}$$ $$a = 0.785 \, \mathrm{\frac{m}{s^2}} \quad \text{right}$$
solution: q3
$$ F = \frac{k_{e}q_{3}q_{1}}{r^2} $$ $$ F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9})(-3\times 10^{-6 })(-3\times 10^{-6})}{(0.20+0.15)^2} $$ $$ F = 0.660 \, \mathrm{N} \quad \text{right}$$$$ F = \frac{k_{e}q_{3}q_{2}}{r^2} $$ $$ F = \frac{(8.987 \times 10^{9})(-3\times 10^{-6 })(3\times 10^{-6})}{(0.15)^2} $$ $$ F = 3.59 \, \mathrm{N} \quad \text{left}$$
$$\sum F = ma $$ $$a = \frac{\sum F}{m} $$ $$a = \frac{0.660-3.59}{2} $$ $$a = 1.46 \, \mathrm{\frac{m}{s^2}} \quad \text{left}$$
Electric Fields
A field has a value for each point in space and time. For example, on a weather map, the surface wind velocity is described by assigning a vector to each point on the map.
Electric fields predict the electric force of an imaginary +1 C test charge at a location. This is useful when you only know about one charge instead of the pair, but remember the test charge doesn't exist.
derivation of electric field equation
We get the electric field equation by dividing both sides of the electrostatic force equation by q and setting q equal to +1 C.
$$F = \frac{k_{e}q_1q_2}{r^{2}}$$ $$\frac{F}{q_1} = \frac{k_{e}q_2}{r^{2}}$$The electric field is defined as the electrostatic force per Coulomb.
$$E=\frac{F}{+1\,\mathrm{C}}$$ $$E = \frac{k_{e}q}{r^{2}}$$$$E = \frac{k_{e}q}{r^{2}}$$
\(E\) = electric field at a point [N/C, N·C-1]
vector
\(k_e\) = 8.987 × 109 = Coulomb's constant [N m²/C²]
\(q\) = charge [C, Coulomb]
\(r\) = distance between the charge and a location [m]
We can figure out the direction of the electric field by imagining what a positive +1 C charge would do at each location.