Definition

1. Noun:
   • A fundamental principle of electrostatics: Coulomb's law is a quantitative physical law that describes the electrostatic interaction between electrically charged particles.
   • The mathematical relationship for electrostatic force: It states that the magnitude of the electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion between two point charges is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Coulomb's law is essential for understanding the forces between charged particles in an atom.
  • The experiment was designed to verify Coulomb's law using small charged spheres.
  • According to Coulomb's law, if you double the distance between two charges, the force between them reduces to one-quarter.

Advanced Usage

• "Inverse-square law" nature: Coulomb's law is often described as an inverse-square law, similar to Newton's law of universal gravitation in its mathematical form, but for electric charges.

  • The inverse-square dependence in Coulomb's law is a key feature that governs many phenomena in electrostatics.

• Applies to point charges: The law is strictly true for stationary point charges. For extended charged objects, the principle of superposition is used with Coulomb's law.

  • To calculate the force on a charge due to a charged rod, we must integrate the contributions from all infinitesimal elements, each obeying Coulomb's law.

Variants and Related Words

• Electrostatic force (n): The force described by Coulomb's law.

  • The electrostatic force between the proton and the electron holds the hydrogen atom together.

• Coulomb force (n): Another name for the electrostatic force governed by Coulomb's law.

  • The Coulomb force can be either attractive or repulsive depending on the signs of the charges.

• Coulomb constant (n): The proportionality constant (k) in the mathematical equation of Coulomb's law.

  • The value of the Coulomb constant depends on the system of units used.

Synonyms

• Electrostatic law: A general term for the law governing forces between static charges.
• Law of electrostatic attraction/repulsion: A descriptive synonym emphasizing the force's nature.

Related Phrases

• Coulomb's law equation: The mathematical formula F = k * |q1 * q2| / r², where F is the force, k is Coulomb's constant, q1 and q2 are the charges, and r is the distance between them.

  • Students must memorize the Coulomb's law equation for the physics exam.

• Principle of superposition for Coulomb's law: The principle that the total force on a charge due to a collection of other charges is the vector sum of the individual forces from each charge.

  • To solve the problem, we applied the principle of superposition along with Coulomb's law.

Noun

1. a fundamental principle of electrostatics; the force of attraction or repulsion between two charged particles is directly proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the distance between them; principle also holds for magnetic poles