Coulomb's Law

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts and definitions related to Coulomb's Law.

Coulomb's Law

Law that describes the force between two point charges; states that the force (F) is proportional to the product of the charges divided by the square of the distance (r) between them.

k (Coulomb's Constant)

A constant used in Coulomb's Law, approximately equal to 9.0 x 10^9 N-m²/C².

Point Charge

An idealized model of a particle with an electric charge that has no physical size.

Attractive Force

The force between two charges that are opposite; they pull towards each other.

Repulsive Force

The force between two charges that are alike; they push away from each other.

F = k * (|q₁ * q₂|/r²)

The formula representing Coulomb's law, where F is the force between the charges, k is Coulomb's constant, q₁ and q₂ are the magnitudes of the charges, and r is the distance between the charges.

Distance (r)

The separation between the two point charges in Coulomb's Law.

Net Charge

The total charge of an object, taking into account the sum of all positive and negative charges.

Force Direction

The direction of the force is along the line connecting the two charges.

Q1 and Q2

Variables representing the magnitudes of the first and second point charge, respectively.