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If both charges have the same sign (like charges) then the product is positive and the direction of the force on is given by ^; the charges repel each other. If the charges have opposite signs then the product is negative and the direction of the force on is ^; the charges attract each other.
Electric charges attract or repel one another with a force inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them: opposite charges attract, like charges repel. [ 7 ] Magnetic poles (or states of polarization at individual points) attract or repel one another in a manner similar to positive and negative charges and always exist as ...
where F is the force, k e is the Coulomb constant, q 1 and q 2 are the magnitudes of the two charges, and r 2 is the square of the distance between them. It describes the fact that like charges repel one another whereas opposite charges attract one another and that the stronger the charges of the particles, the stronger the force they exert on ...
By 1785 Charles-Augustin de Coulomb showed that two electric charges at rest experience a force inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, a result now called Coulomb's law. The striking similarity to gravity strengthened the case for action at a distance, at least as a mathematical model. [12]
The way in which charges and currents (i.e. streams of charges) interact with the electromagnetic field is described by Maxwell's equations [4] and the Lorentz force law. [5] Maxwell's equations detail how the electric field converges towards or diverges away from electric charges, how the magnetic field curls around electrical currents, and ...
Ions of like charge repel each other, and ions of opposite charge attract each other. Therefore, ions do not usually exist on their own, but will bind with ions of opposite charge to form a crystal lattice. The resulting compound is called an ionic compound, and is said to be held together by ionic bonding.
Charge is possessed not just by matter, but also by antimatter, each antiparticle bearing an equal and opposite charge to its corresponding particle. [ 35 ] The presence of charge gives rise to an electrostatic force: charges exert a force on each other, an effect that was known, though not understood, in antiquity.
The diagram shows that like charges repel each other, and opposite charges attract each other. In the image, the vector F 1 is the force experienced by q 1, and the vector F 2 is the force experienced by q 2. When q 1 q 2 > 0, the forces are repulsive (as in the image) and when q 1 q 2 < 0 the forces are attractive (opposite to the image). The ...