Coulomb's law and different charges

In summary, if two charges, one positive and one negative, are brought into contact and then separated again, they will become like charges and the magnitude of their electrical force will change according to Coulomb's law. In the given scenario, the magnitude of the electrical force on each sphere would be 0.027 N and the forces would be repulsive.
  • #1
PinkFlamingo
19
0
If you have two charges, one positive and one negative, you can find the electrical force using coulomb's law. What happens to the charges if you touch them together and then separate them again? Do they become like charges, and does the magnitude change?

Thanks

Mandy

:confused:
 
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  • #2
You really haven't specified a physical situation, so who knows. But neutral objects exert no electric force on each other.

cookiemonster
 
  • #3
Two small, identical, point-like conducting spheres have charges q1=-2nC and q2=6.00 nC, The two spheres are brought momentarily into contact and then separated by a distance of 3.00 cm. Now what is the magnitude of the electrical force on each? Are the forces now attractive or repulsive?
 

What is Coulomb's law?

Coulomb's law is a fundamental law of electrostatics that describes the force between two stationary electrically charged particles. It states that the force between two charges is directly proportional to the product of their magnitudes and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

What is an electric charge?

An electric charge is a fundamental property of matter that causes it to experience a force when placed in an electric field. It is measured in units of coulombs (C) and can be either positive or negative.

What are like and unlike charges?

Like charges are charges that have the same sign (both positive or both negative), while unlike charges are charges that have opposite signs (one positive and one negative). Like charges repel each other, while unlike charges attract each other.

What is the principle of superposition in Coulomb's law?

The principle of superposition states that the total force on a charge due to multiple charges is equal to the vector sum of the individual forces on that charge due to each individual charge.

How does the distance between two charges affect the strength of the electric force?

The strength of the electric force between two charges is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that as the distance between two charges increases, the strength of the force decreases. Conversely, as the distance decreases, the force increases.

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