Coulombs Law

Chapter 21

Coulombs Law

Magic?
(a) The two glass rods were each rubbed with a
silk cloth and one was suspended by thread.
When they are close to each other, they repel
each other.

(b) The plastic rod was rubbed with fur. When

brought close to the glass rod, the rods attract
each other.

Coulombs Law

Electric Charge
(a) Two charged rods of the same sign repel each
other.

(b)

Two charged rods of opposite signs attract

each other. Plus signs indicate a positive net
charge, and minus signs indicate a negative
net charge.

Coulombs Law
Materials classified based on their ability to move charge

Conductors are materials in which a significant number of electrons are

free to move. Examples include metals.

The charged particles in nonconductors (insulators) are not free to move.

Examples include rubber, plastic, glass.

Semiconductors are materials that are intermediate between conductors

and insulators; examples include silicon and germanium in computer chips.

Superconductors are materials that are perfect conductors, allowing

charge to move without any hindrance.

Concept Check - Electrostatics

Two charged balls are repelling each other as they hang from the
ceiling. What can you say about their charges?
1. one is positive, the other is negative
2. both are positive
3. both are negative
4. both have the same charge

Concept Check - Electrostatics

Two charged balls are repelling each other as they hang from the
ceiling. What can you say about their charges?
1. one is positive, the other is negative
2. both are positive
3. both are negative
4. both have the same charge
The fact that the balls repel each other only can tell you that they
have the same charge, but you do not know the sign. So they can
be either both positive or both negative.

Concept Check - Electrostatics

From the picture, what can you conclude about the charges?
1.

have opposite charges

2.

have the same charge

3.

all have the same charge

4. one ball must be neutral (no charge)

Concept Check - Electrostatics

From the picture, what can you conclude about the charges?
1.

have opposite charges

2.

have the same charge

3.

all have the same charge

4. one ball must be neutral (no charge)

The PERIWINKLE and BLACK balls must have the same charge,
since they repel each other. The RED ball also repels the
PERIWINKLE , so it must also have the same charge as the
PERIWINKLE (and the BLACK).

Coulombs Law

Charged Particles. The properties of conductors and insulators are due to

the structure and electrical nature of atoms. Atoms consist of positively
charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and electrically neutral
neutrons. The protons and neutrons are packed tightly together in a
central nucleus and do not move.
When atoms of a conductor like copper come together to form the solid,
some of their outermostand so most loosely heldelectrons become
free to wander about within the solid, leaving behind positively charged
atoms (positive ions). We call the mobile electrons conduction electrons.
There are few (if any) free electrons in a nonconductor.

Induced Charge. A neutral copper rod is electrically isolated

from its surroundings by being suspended on a non-conducting
thread. Either end of the copper rod will be attracted by a
charged rod. Here, conduction electrons in the copper rod are
repelled to the far end of that rod by the negative charge on the
plastic rod. Then that negative charge attracts the remaining
positive charge on the near end of the copper rod, rotating the
copper rod to bring that near end closer to the plastic rod.

Concept Checks Conductors

A metal ball hangs from the ceiling by an insulating thread. The ball is
attracted to a positive-charged rod held near the ball. The charge of
the ball must be:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

positive
negative
neutral
positive or neutral
negative or neutral

Concept Checks Conductors

A metal ball hangs from the ceiling by an insulating thread. The ball is
attracted to a positive-charged rod held near the ball. The charge of
the ball must be:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

positive
negative
neutral
positive or neutral
negative or neutral

remember
the ball is a
conductor!

Clearly, the ball will be attracted if its charge is negative.

However, even if the ball is neutral, the charges in the ball can be
separated by induction (polarization), leading to a net attraction.

Concept Checks Conductors (2)

Two neutral conductors are connected by a wire and a charged rod is
brought near, but does not touch. The wire is taken away, and then the
charged rod is removed. What are the charges on the conductors?
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Concept Checks Conductors (2)

Two neutral conductors are connected by a wire and a charged rod is
brought near, but does not touch. The wire is taken away, and then the
charged rod is removed. What are the charges on the conductors?
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

While the conductors are connected, positive charge will flow from the
blue to the green ball due to polarization. Once disconnected, the
charges will remain on the separate conductors even when the rod is
removed.

Insulators and Conductors

+
+

+
+

+
+
+

+
+

+
+

+ +
+ ++
+ +
++
+
+
++
+
+ ++

Conductor

Nonconductor

Insulators and Conductors

+

+ +
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ +
+ + +
Q

+
+ +

+ +

+
+

+
Q/2

+ +

Q/2

+ +

Concept Check Coulombs Law

What is the magnitude of the force F2?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

1.0 N
1.5 N
2.0 N
3.0 N
6.0 N

F1 = 3N

F2 = ?

Concept Check Coulombs Law

What is the magnitude of the force F2?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

1.0 N
1.5 N
2.0 N
3.0 N
6.0 N

F1 = 3N

F2 = ?

The force F2 must have the same magnitude as F1. This is due to
the fact that the form of Coulombs Law is totally symmetric with
respect to the two charges involved. The force of one on the other
of a pair is the same as the reverse. Note that this sounds
suspiciously like Newtons 3rd Law!!

Concept Check Electric Force

Two uniformly charged spheres are firmly fastened to and electrically
insulated from frictionless pucks on an air table. The charge on sphere
2 is three times the charge on sphere 1. Which force diagram correctly
shows the magnitude and direction of the electrostatic forces:

Concept Check Electric Force

Two uniformly charged spheres are firmly fastened to and electrically
insulated from frictionless pucks on an air table. The charge on sphere
2 is three times the charge on sphere 1. Which force diagram correctly
shows the magnitude and direction of the electrostatic forces:

Concept Check Coulombs Law (2)

If we increase one charge to 4Q, what is the magnitude of F 1?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

3/4 N
3.0 N
12 N
16 N
48 N

F1 = 3N
F1 = ?

Q
4Q

Q
Q

F2 = ?
F2 = ?

Concept Check Coulombs Law (2)

If we increase one charge to 4Q, what is the magnitude of F 1?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

3/4 N
3.0 N
12 N
16 N
48 N

F1 = 3N
F1 = ?

Q
4Q

q1q2
F

K
3N
2
Originally we had: 1
r
4q1 q2

q1q2
4K 2 =4F1=12N
2
Now we have: F1 K
r
r
which is 4 times bigger than before.

Q
Q

F2 = ?
F2 = ?

Concept Check Coulombs Law (3)

The force between two charges separated by a distance r is F. If the
charges are pulled apart to a distance 3r, what is the force on each
charge?
F
F
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

9F
3F
F
1/3 F
1/9 F

r
Q

3r

Concept Check Coulombs Law (3)

The force between two charges separated by a distance r is F. If the
charges are pulled apart to a distance 3r, what is the force on each
charge?
F
F
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

9F
3F
F
1/3 F
1/9 F

F/9

r
Q

3r

q1q2
Originally we had: F K 2
r
q1q2
q1q2 1

K
= F
Now we have:
2
2
9r
9
3r
which is 1/9 as big as before.

F/9

Concept Check Electric Force

Two balls with charges +Q and +4Q are fixed at a separation distance
of 3R. Is it possible to place another charged ball Q0 on the line
between the two charges such that the net force on Q0 will be zero?
1.
2.
3.
4.

yes, but only if Q0 is positive

yes, but only if Q0 is negative
yes, independent of the sign (or value) of Q0
no, the net force can never be zero +Q

+4Q
3R

Concept Check Electric Force

Two balls with charges +Q and +4Q are fixed at a separation distance
of 3R. Is it possible to place another charged ball Q0 on the line
between the two charges such that the net force on Q0 will be zero?
1.
2.
3.
4.

yes, but only if Q0 is positive

yes, but only if Q0 is negative
yes, independent of the sign (or value) of Q0
no, the net force can never be zero +Q

+4Q
3R

A positive charge would be repelled by both charges, so a point

where these two repulsive forces cancel can be found. A negative
charge would be attracted by both, and the same argument holds.

Concept Check Electric Force (2)

Two balls with charges +Q and +4Q are separated by 3R. Where
should you place another charged ball Q0 on the line between the two
charges such that the net force on Q0 will be zero?
+4Q

+Q

4
2R

R
3R

Concept Check Electric Force (2)

Two balls with charges +Q and +4Q are separated by 3R. Where
should you place another charged ball Q0 on the line between the two
charges such that the net force on Q0 will be zero?
+4Q

+Q

2R

R
3R

q0 q
The force on Q0 due to +Q is:
r2
q0 4q 4 q0 q
F K
K
F
2
2
4
The force on Q0 due to +4Q is:
2r
r
F K

Since +4Q is 4 times bigger than +Q, then Q0 needs to be farther

from +4Q. In fact, Q0 must be twice as far from +4Q, since the

Coulombs Law

1
FE
r
FE

FE q1q2

q1q2
r2

1 q1q2
FE
4 o r 2
q1q2
FE ko 2
r

where k o 8.98755179 109 N m 2 C 2

and o 8.85 1012 C 2 N m 2

Coulombs Law
F12
q1 (+)

F32
q2 (-)

q3 (+)

q3 q2 q1q2
ko 2 2
r12
r32
q3 (+)

q1 (+)

q2 (-)

Concept Check Forces in 2D

Which of the arrows best represents the
direction of the net force on charge +Q
due to the other two charges?

+2Q

+Q
d

+4Q

3
4
5

Concept Check Forces in 2D

Which of the arrows best represents the
direction of the net force on charge +Q
due to the other two charges?

+2Q

+Q
d

The charge +2Q repels +Q towards

the right. The charge +4Q repels +Q
upwards, but with a stronger force.
Therefore, the net force is up and to
the right, but mostly up.

+4Q

+2Q

+4Q

3
4
5

Concept Check Electric Force (3)

Two balls with charges +Q and 4Q are fixed at a separation distance
of 3R. Is it possible to place another charged ball Q0 anywhere on the
line such that the net force on Q0 will be zero?
4Q

+Q

1.
2.
3.
4.

yes, but only if Q0 is positive

yes, but only if Q0 is negative
yes, independent of the sign (or value) of Q0
no, the net force can never be zero

3R

Concept Check Electric Force (3)

Two balls with charges +Q and 4Q are fixed at a separation distance
of 3R. Is it possible to place another charged ball Q0 anywhere on the
line such that the net force on Q0 will be zero?
4Q

+Q

1.
2.
3.
4.

yes, but only if Q0 is positive

yes, but only if Q0 is negative
yes, independent of the sign (or value) of Q0
no, the net force can never be zero

3R

A charge (positive or negative) can be placed to the left of the +Q

charge, such that the repulsive force from the +Q charge cancels
the attractive force from 4Q.

Coulombs Law
Coulombs law describes the electrostatic force
(or electric force) between two charged particles. If
the particles have charges q1 and q2, are separated
by distance r, and are at rest (or moving only
slowly) relative to each other, then the magnitude
of the force acting on each due to the other is
The electrostatic force on particle 1
given by
can be described in terms of a unit

q1 q2
1 q1 q2
F k 2
r
4 0 r 2

vector r along an axis through the

two particles, radially away from
particle 2.

where 0 = 8.85 10-12 C2/Nm2 is the permittivity constant. The ratio 1/40 is
often replaced with the electrostatic constant (or Coulomb constant)
k=8.99109 N.m2/C2. Thus k = 1/40 .

Coulombs Law
The electrostatic force vector acting on a
charged particle due to a second charged
particle is either directly toward the second
particle (opposite signs of charge) or directly
away from it (same sign of charge).
If multiple electrostatic forces act on a particle,
the net force is the vector sum (not scalar sum)
of the individual forces.

Two charged particles repel each

other if they have the same sign of
charge, either (a) both positive or (b)
both negative. (c) They attract each
other if they have opposite signs of
charge.

Coulombs Law
Multiple Forces: If multiple electrostatic forces act on a particle, the net force is
the vector sum (not scalar sum) of the individual forces.
Shell Theories: There are two shell theories for electrostatic force

Answer: (a) left towards the electron

(b) left away from the other proton
(c) left

Charge is Quantized
Electric charge is quantized (restricted to certain values).
The charge of a particle can be written as ne, where n is a positive or negative
integer and e is the elementary charge. Any positive or negative charge q that
can be detected can be written as

q ne where n 1, 2, 3,K
in which e, the elementary charge, has the approximate value

Charge is Quantized

When a physical quantity such as charge can have only discrete values
rather than any value, we say that the quantity is quantized. It is
possible, for example, to find a particle that has no charge at all or a
charge of +10e or -6e, but not a particle with a charge of, say, 3.57e.

Answer: -15e

Charge is Conserved
The net electric charge of any isolated system is always
conserved.
If two charged particles undergo an annihilation process,
they have equal and opposite signs of charge.

e e
If two charged particles appear as a result of a pair
production process, they have equal and opposite signs of
charge.
e e
A photograph of trails of bubbles left in a bubble chamber by an electron and a positron.
The pair of particles was produced by a gamma ray that entered the chamber directly from
the bottom. Being electrically neutral, the gamma ray did not generate a telltale trail of
bubbles along its path, as the electron and positron did.

Charge is Conserved
Nuclei contain positively charged protons and neutral neutrons. Nuclei are
characterized by the number of protons and neutrons they contain.

Charge is Conserved
The notation for a particular nucleus of element X is written:

Examples:
Masses and charges of atomic particles:

Alpha Decay

240
94

Pu 42 He 236
92 U Q

Q= mX mY m c 2

Alpha Decay
When a nucleus decays by emitting an alpha particle, it loses two protons
and two neutrons, Symbolically:
A
Z

Y 24 He Q

A-4
Z-2

Here, X is the parent nucleus and Y is the

daughter.
238
92

Th 42 He 4.3MeV

234
90

- Decay e- emission
The basic process in beta decay converts a neutron into a proton and
an electron:

1
0

n 11 p -10 e e

Therefore, a nucleus that decays via beta decay loses a neutron

and gains a proton.
A
Z

Y -10 e e Q

A
Z 1

Beta Decay e+ emission

If a nucleus emits a positron, a proton has become a neutron:

1
1
A
Z

p 01 n +10 e e

Y +10 e e Q

A
Z 1

Gamma Decay

Gamma Decay
A gamma ray is emitted when an excited nucleus returns to its ground
state. Nuclei may become excited through alpha or beta decay, leading
to a sequence such as this one:

The asterisk indicates the excited nucleus.

1
0

n 238
92 U

239
92

U*

239
92

Summary
Electric Charge

Coulombs Law

The strength of a particles electrical

interaction with objects around it
depends on its electric charge,
which can be either positive or
negative.

The magnitude of the electrical

force between two charged
particles is proportional to the
product of their charges and
inversely proportional to the
square of their separation
distance.

Conductors and Insulators

Conductors are materials in which a
significant number of electrons are
free to move. The charged particles
in nonconductors (insulators) are
not free to move.

Conservation of Charge
The net electric charge of any isolated
system is always conserved.

Eq. 21-4

The Elementary Charge

Electric charge is quantized
(restricted to certain values).
e is the elementary charge
Eq. 21-12