Applying Coulomb's Law: Changes in Charge and Distance

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on applying Coulomb's Law to determine the effects of changes in charge and distance on the force between two charged spheres. When both charges are doubled, the force increases to 12.0 x 10^-6 N, as per Coulomb's Law, which states that force is directly proportional to the product of the charges. Touching an uncharged sphere to one of the charged spheres results in a force of 1.5 x 10^-6 N when the uncharged sphere is taken away, due to charge redistribution. Increasing the distance to 30.0 cm reduces the force to 0.75 x 10^-6 N, demonstrating the inverse square relationship in Coulomb's Law.

PREREQUISITES
  • Coulomb's Law
  • Basic principles of electrostatics
  • Understanding of charge interactions
  • Mathematical manipulation of equations
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the derivation and applications of Coulomb's Law
  • Explore the concept of electric fields and potentials
  • Learn about the superposition principle in electrostatics
  • Investigate the effects of dielectric materials on electrostatic forces
USEFUL FOR

Students of physics, educators teaching electrostatics, and anyone interested in understanding the fundamental principles of electric forces and charge interactions.

webiret
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
1. 1. Two charged spheres,10.0cm apart,attract each other with a force of magnitude 3.0 x 10^-6 N. What force results from each of the following changes, con- sidered separately?
(a) Both charges are doubled, while the distance remains the same.
(b) An uncharged,identical sphere istouched to one of the spheres and is then taken far away.
(c) The separation is increased to 30.0 cm.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Hi webiret!
Welcome to PF.

The rule here at PF is, to get some help you must show attempt.

Can you write the equation for Coulumb's Law?
 
If you know Coulomb's Law, then all of the questions should seem pretty straightforward. Simple change the variables in the equation for Coulomb's Law and you should get the answers. Try it out, and if you get stuck, post your attempts here.
 

Similar threads

Find the magnitude of the electric force from 3 charges at vertices of a cube
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
Coulomb's law to find electric field for charge density function
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
1K
Point charge with very thin metal sheet along a spherical surface
  • · Replies 21 ·
Replies
21
Views
2K
Question regarding Coulomb's Law
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
Coulomb's Law: The distance between two charged spheres
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Using Gauss' Law to find the field at a point
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Coulombs's law problem, asked to find an unknown charge.
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
Problem involving Coulomb's law
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Find the electric field on the surface of a sphere using Coulomb's law
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
Calculating Charge and Force Using Coulomb's Law and Trigonometry
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
8K