This force is named after a French scientist “Charles Augustin Coulomb’, who defines about this force for the first time in 1785, consequently, this is also called Coulomb’s force.
1. Definition:
These forces are produced through electric charge of the
particles and exist between charged particles. Electrostatic forces can be
attractive or repulsive, and are liable for the stability of an atom. These are
the main binding forces among ionic compounds that combine the ionic species in
ionic compounds. These forces are among the four fundamental forces that exist between
nuclear particles, allied with electromagnetic force.
2. Properties:
1.
Electrostatic forces show some particular properties which are
described as follows
2.
Similar charges are repelled by each other, while dissimilar
ones show the opposite behavior as they strongly attract each other.
3.
Magnitude of these forces directly depends on product of
electric charges
4.
The distance among these charges inversely affects the strength
of these forces
5.
These forces exist between the axis line joining these charges
3. Principle governing electrostatic forces:
The Coulomb’s law of electrostatic forces of attraction describes
some specific properties of these forces at rest. This law demonstrates the dependence
of these forces on distance and magnitude of two charges and usually applied on
point charges. According to this law “same charges (a pair of positive-positive
or negative-negative) always repel each other when present in vicinity, while
the opposite charges (a pair of positive-negative) on the other hand attract
each other’. For instance, a proton will repel the second proton that is
situated in its proximity, at the same time a cation will repel the same entity
with similar charge. On the other hand, paradoxically to proton-proton
repulsion, a proton will always attract electron due to divergent charge
present on it, and same is the case with cation and anion that attract each
other. As electrons attract the protons from outside the nucleus, nevertheless,
these protons never jump out of nucleus due to strong nuclear forces present
inside the nucleus that do not permit these particles to stick with outside electrons.
The strength of coulomb’s forces, weather attractive or repulsive, can be calculated through Coulomb’s law using the following equation
Where
F = Electrostatic
force
K = Proportionality
constant/Coulomb’s constant
q1 & q2
= electric charges
r = distance among
centers of these charges
According to equation 1, the magnitude of electric charges is
directly proportional to the electrostatic force F, while this force is inversely
proportional to the distance between these two entities. At a condition where
distance between two charges reaches to infinity, the value of F becomes zero
and the electrostatic forces do not exist among those particles. The values of
point charges (q1 & q2) can have one of the positive
or negative sign. When the force is attractive in case of two opposite charges,
it possesses a negative charge. In contrast, the two same charges assign a positive
charge to it in case of repulsive forces. Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram
of coulomb’s law of electrostatic interactions.
4. Existence of electrostatic forces in daily chores:
Ø The lighting
phenomenon of clouds is produced by the resistance of opposite charges with
each other, and these charges strike on ground to get neutralize with a blast.
Ø The stickiness of small
pieces of paper with comb just after combing is the most common example of
production of electrostatic forces.
Ø Silk and wool fabric
usually clings to our body owing to rubbing of charged particles exist in this
stuff.
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