EXPERIMENT 2: ELECTROSTATIC FORCES AND COULOMBS LAW

Objective:

To study the electric forces between charged particles and determine the form of Coulomb's Law of electrostatic forces.

Theory:

In the previous lab experiment, we explored the properties of electric charge. In Activity 2 of the Experiment 1: Experiments in Electrostatics, we learned that two charged objects exert attractive or repulsive forces on each other. We also discovered that the force depends on the separation between the charges. The greater the distance between charged objects, the weaker the force. However, our investigations of the electrostatic force were qualitative and conceptual. The quantitative law that governs this relationship is called Coulomb's Law. Coulomb's Law states that the magnitude of the electrostatic force between two charged particles is proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the separation between them. This can be expressed mathematically as:

\fPher Coulomb's Law X Opinion | Roberts to Trump: Do x + C phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/coulombs-law/latest/coulombs-law_en.html 2 E Paused . . . Force on q2 by q1 = 319.557 N Force on q1 by q2 = 319.557 N 92 0 cm 1 N 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 Charge 1 Charge 2 Force Values -4 HC D 8 HC D Scientific Notation 10 10 10 1 cm Coulomb's Law 18: PHET : Macro Scale Atomic ScalePHY 1330/1630 NAME: ACTIVITY 2 Symbol Value Unit Meaning 91 C Charge of particle 1 92 C Charge of particle 2 Ke 8.99E+09 Nm2/c2 Electrostatic constant Separation, r (m) Force, F12 (N)PHY 1330/1630 NAME: ACTIVITY 1 Symbol Value Unit Meaning 91 C Charge of particle 1 r m Separation between charges Ke 8.99E+09 Nm /C|Electrostatic constant Charge, q2 (C) Force, F12 (N) Activity 1 Graph Activity 2 Graph +