Small clarification: applying Coulomb's Law

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    Coulomb's law Law
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SUMMARY

The discussion clarifies the use of subscripts in Coulomb's Law equations, specifically in the context of forces between electric charges. The subscripts (13 and 23) denote the specific interactions between charge pairs: F1 represents the force from charge 1 to charge 3, while F2 represents the force from charge 2 to charge 3. This notation is essential for understanding the directionality of the forces involved in electrostatic interactions. The formula used is F = k [(q1q2)/r²], where 'k' is Coulomb's constant.

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Homework Statement


Hi,

I'm studying electric charges and fields, and I have a quick question about this example in my book:
Untitled-1_zps8eb88ce6.jpg



Everything is straightforward except the subscripts (13 and 23) on r in the denominators of initial Coulomb equations for F1 and F2. In the next step they just plugged in the distances, so those numbers don't seem to do anything, and there are no subscripts in the original formula. So what are they?


Homework Equations



F = k [(q1q2)/r2]
 
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They just indicate that the force one is from charge 1 to charge 3. And the force 2 is from charge 2 to charge 3.
 
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Duh, I knew it had to be something obvious. Thank you!
 

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