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Coulomb's inverse-square law, or simply Coulomb's law, is an experimental law [1] of physics that calculates the amount of force between two electrically charged particles at rest. This electric force is conventionally called the electrostatic force or Coulomb force . [ 2 ]
Coulomb's law quantifies the electrostatic force between two particles by asserting that the force is proportional to the product of their charges, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The charge of an antiparticle equals that of the corresponding particle, but with opposite sign.
The coulomb was originally defined, using the latter definition of the ampere, as 1 A × 1 s. [4] The 2019 redefinition of the ampere and other SI base units fixed the numerical value of the elementary charge when expressed in coulombs and therefore fixed the value of the coulomb when expressed as a multiple of the fundamental charge.
The strength of this force in nonrelativistic approximation is determined by Coulomb's inverse square law. [ 110 ] : 58–61 When an electron is in motion, it generates a magnetic field . [ 100 ] : 140 The Ampère–Maxwell law relates the magnetic field to the mass motion of electrons (the current ) with respect to an observer.
When talking about electrostatic potential energy, time-invariant electric fields are always assumed so, in this case, the electric field is conservative and Coulomb's law can be used. Using Coulomb's law, it is known that the electrostatic force F and the electric field E created by a discrete point charge Q are radially directed from Q.
The electric potential arising from a point charge, Q, at a distance, r, from the location of Q is observed to be =, where ε 0 is the permittivity of vacuum [4], V E is known as the Coulomb potential.
Macroscopic charged objects are described in terms of Coulomb's law for electricity and Ampère's force law for magnetism; the Lorentz force describes microscopic charged particles. The electromagnetic force is responsible for many of the chemical and physical phenomena observed in daily life.
Coulomb's law tells us that like charges repel and opposite charges attract. Electromagnetism is one of the fundamental forces of nature alongside gravity, the strong force and the weak force. Whereas gravity acts on all things that have mass, electromagnetism acts on all things that have electric charge.