Who was Coulomb, and why is he so important?
Charles-Augustin de Coloumb was a French physicist who devoted himself to scientific research, particularly in the study of electrostatics. He is most known for his Law of Electrostatics, published in 1785, which changed the way people understood static electricity and charged particles. His publishings were incredibly important in the development of the theory of electromagnetism. Coloumb studied the attraction and repulsion of charged particles and magnetic poles as well as friction of machinery and elasticity of metal and silk fibres. His discoveries would go on to be used in proving other theories, like Gauss's Law and Poisson's mathematical theory of magnetic forces. The unit of measurement for electric charge, the coulomb, was named after him for his contributions.
Example Problem:
What is the magnitude of force a 1.75 x 10^-6 C charge exerts on a 4.38 x 10^- 4 C charge located 2.5 m away? Round to two decimal places.
G: Q1=1.75 x 10^-6 C Q2= 4.38 x 10^-4 C r=2.5 m k=9.0 x 10^9 Nm^2/c^2
U: F=??????
E: F=kQ1Q2
r^2
S: F=(9.0 x 10^9 Nm^2/c^2 )(1.75 x 10^-6 C)(4.38 x 10^-4 C)
(2.5 m)^2
S: F= 1.1 N
The point charges exert 1.1 Newtons of force on one another.
G: Q1=1.75 x 10^-6 C Q2= 4.38 x 10^-4 C r=2.5 m k=9.0 x 10^9 Nm^2/c^2
U: F=??????
E: F=kQ1Q2
r^2
S: F=(9.0 x 10^9 Nm^2/c^2 )(1.75 x 10^-6 C)(4.38 x 10^-4 C)
(2.5 m)^2
S: F= 1.1 N
The point charges exert 1.1 Newtons of force on one another.