How Does Quadrupling the Distance Between Charges Affect Electrostatic Force?

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Quadrupling the distance between two charges results in a significant decrease in the electrostatic force between them, specifically by a factor of 16. This phenomenon is explained by the inverse-square law, which states that the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Therefore, as the distance increases, the electrostatic force diminishes exponentially. When the distance is doubled, the force decreases to a quarter of its original value, highlighting the law's impact. Understanding this principle is essential for analyzing electrostatic interactions.
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If the distance between two charges is suddenly quadrupled, what happens to the electrostatic force between these charges? Not sure on this any suggestions? Thanks
 
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Use the Coulomb for the electrostatic force between two charges.
Notice that it is an inverse-square law. What does this say about the force when the distance is doubled?
 


If the distance between two charges is suddenly quadrupled, the electrostatic force between them will decrease by a factor of 16. This is because the electrostatic force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the charges. So, as the distance between the charges increases, the force decreases exponentially. In this case, quadrupling the distance would result in a decrease of 4 times the original force, which is equivalent to a decrease of 16 times the original force. This is known as the inverse square law in electrostatics.
 

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