What is the magnitude of each charge in Coulombs according to Coulomb's Law?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on calculating the magnitude of identical charges using Coulomb's Law, specifically the formula F = k(q1q2)/r^2. Given two charges repelling each other with a force of 1 N at a distance of 1 meter, the user initially struggled with the setup and simplification of the equation. The correct approach involves substituting the known values into the equation and solving for the charge magnitude, leading to the conclusion that both charges are equal and can be calculated directly from the provided force and distance.

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  • Understanding of Coulomb's Law and its formula F = k(q1q2)/r^2
  • Basic knowledge of electrostatics and charge interactions
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Defcon55
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I have a quick question about using Coulomb's Law, and I was hoping someone would be able to help me.
There are two identical charges which are one meter apart that are repelling each other with a force of 1 N each. What is the magnitude (Coulombs) of each charge?

I tried using Coulomb's law for each of the two charges, and just setting up an arbitrary point where Q1 was located at (0,0) and Q2 is located at (1,0), but I believe this is the wrong way to solve the problem, as I simplified the answer to 1=1.
Is there something that I am missing here? I am using F = k(q1q2)/r^2

Thank you.
 
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Defcon55 said:
I have a quick question about using Coulomb's Law, and I was hoping someone would be able to help me.
There are two identical charges which are one meter apart that are repelling each other with a force of 1 N each. What is the magnitude (Coulombs) of each charge?

I tried using Coulomb's law for each of the two charges, and just setting up an arbitrary point where Q1 was located at (0,0) and Q2 is located at (1,0), but I believe this is the wrong way to solve the problem, as I simplified the answer to 1=1.
Is there something that I am missing here? I am using F = k(q1q2)/r^2

Thank you.

You would seem to have everything defined in that equation except the magnitude of the charge. Show us the numbers you plugged into that equation, and solve for q=q1=q2.
 

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