The Development of Coulomb's Law

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    Coulomb's law Law
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the historical development of Coulomb's Law, specifically focusing on how Charles-Augustin de Coulomb derived the formula and the constant "k" associated with it. Participants explore the origins of the law, the methodology used by Coulomb, and the contributions of other scientists in this context.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Historical
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses frustration over the lack of clear sources explaining how Coulomb developed his formula and questions whether someone else contributed significantly to its formulation.
  • Another participant notes that Coulomb observed the relationship between the force exerted by charged objects, stating it is proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
  • A participant mentions the use of the torsion balance in Coulomb's experiments but seeks clarification on how Coulomb determined the constant "k." They acknowledge that the torsion balance was used but are unsure of the specifics of its application.
  • One participant provides a formula for the electrostatic constant and relates it to the permittivity of free space, indicating a mathematical approach to understanding the constant "k."
  • Another participant reiterates the uncertainty about how Coulomb derived the constant "k," suggesting that he measured force for known charges and distances, while also noting that Coulomb's work predates that of Gauss and Maxwell.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying degrees of uncertainty regarding the historical context and methodology of Coulomb's work. There is no consensus on how Coulomb derived the constant "k," and multiple viewpoints about the contributions of other scientists are present.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge limitations in their understanding of the historical development of Coulomb's Law and the specific methods used by Coulomb, particularly regarding the determination of the constant "k."

BelaLuna
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Hello, I am new here. I have a question that I cannot seem to find an answer to and is beginning to bother me in the worst way.
I was researching to find out how Coulomb developed the formula that is used today (since I do not have the programme, I shall not even attempt to write it) and found that not one source could give me a straight-forward answer. It simply said that he thought the relationship was caused by two different fluids and that the unit coulomb and Coulomb's Law is named after him. This is leading me to believe that someone else had continued upon the theory, fully explained the relationship, and developed the formula. And if this is so, who? Who developed it?
This may seem silly, but it is frustrating after reading at least eleven different articles of the subject and not being able to find an answer to a relatively simple question. Does anyone have an idea as to who this person may be? Or am I gravely mistaken in thinking that there is another person?

(if this is a double post, i offer my sincerest of apologies, but my internet is acting rather strange tonight and am not sure if this came through)
 
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torsion balance

From what i know Coloumb just noted the simple fact that the magnitude of the force one charged object exerts on another (like conducting spheres) is proportional to the amount of charge on both objects and inversly proportional to the distance between them squared.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Bcoulomb.png

above is a link to a drawing of the torsion balance he used to make his measurements.
 
Did some more research and had that question answered, but I still cannot find how Coulomb found the constant "k." It is a queer number and must have been found somehow, but I can't find how he did it. The torsian balance was used, of this I am sure, but how?
 
The electrostatic can be found by:

[tex]k_c = \frac{1} {4 \pi \epsilon_0}[/tex]

where [itex]\epsilon_0[/itex] is the permittivity of free space and is found by:

[tex]\epsilon_0 = \frac {1} {c^2 \mu_0}[/tex]
 
Last edited:
BelaLuna said:
Did some more research and had that question answered, but I still cannot find how Coulomb found the constant "k." It is a queer number and must have been found somehow, but I can't find how he did it. The torsian balance was used, of this I am sure, but how?

He simply measured the force for a known pair of charges and a known separation.

To Ranger: I'm not sure Couloumb had the luxury of using those equations, since Couloumbs work preceded that of Gauss and Maxwell! :smile:

Claude.
 

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