18.3 Coulomb’s law  (Page 2/6)

As the example implies, gravitational force is completely negligible on a small scale, where the interactions of individual charged particles are important. On a large scale, such as between the Earth and a person, the reverse is true. Most objects are nearly electrically neutral, and so attractive and repulsive Coulomb forces nearly cancel. Gravitational force on a large scale dominates interactions between large objects because it is always attractive, while Coulomb forces tend to cancel.

Section summary

• Frenchman Charles Coulomb was the first to publish the mathematical equation that describes the electrostatic force between two objects.
• Coulomb’s law gives the magnitude of the force between point charges. It is
  $F=k\frac{\left|q_1{q}_2\right|}{r^2},$

  where $q_1$ and $q_2$ are two point charges separated by a distance $r$ , and $k\approx 8.99\times {10}^9\text{N}·{\text{m}}^2/{\text{C}}^2$

• This Coulomb force is extremely basic, since most charges are due to point-like particles. It is responsible for all electrostatic effects and underlies most macroscopic forces.
• The Coulomb force is extraordinarily strong compared with the gravitational force, another basic force—but unlike gravitational force it can cancel, since it can be either attractive or repulsive.
• The electrostatic force between two subatomic particles is far greater than the gravitational force between the same two particles.

Conceptual questions

[link] shows the charge distribution in a water molecule, which is called a polar molecule because it has an inherent separation of charge. Given water’s polar character, explain what effect humidity has on removing excess charge from objects.

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