Physics: Coulomb's Law and Electric Force

Study Notes

A vector field that surrounds charged particles
Electric field lines:
- emerge from positive charges and enter negative charges
- are continuous and form closed loops
- are denser near the charge and less dense farther away
Electric field strength (E):
- measured in N/C (newtons per coulomb)
- proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance
- Electric field equation: E = k * q / r^2
  - E: electric field strength
  - k: Coulomb's constant
  - q: magnitude of the charge
  - r: distance from the charge

The potential energy per unit charge at a given point in an electric field
Electric potential (V):
- measured in volts (V)
- proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the distance
- Electric potential equation: V = k * q / r
  - V: electric potential
  - k: Coulomb's constant
  - q: magnitude of the charge
  - r: distance from the charge
Equipotential surfaces:
- surfaces where the electric potential is the same
- perpendicular to the electric field lines

Relates the distribution of electric charge to the resulting electric field
Gauss's Law equation: ∫E · dA = Q / ε₀
- ∫E · dA: total electric flux through a closed surface
- Q: net charge inside the surface
- ε₀: electric constant (approximately 8.85 x 10^-12 F/m)
Key aspects:
- The total electric flux through a closed surface is proportional to the net charge inside the surface
- Electric field lines emerge from positive charges and enter negative charges

Describes the electric force between two point charges, stating that like charges repel and opposite charges attract
The force is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them
The equation for Coulomb's Law is F = k * (q1 * q2) / r^2, where F is the electric force, k is Coulomb's constant (approximately 8.99 x 10^9 N m^2 C^2), q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges, and r is the distance between them

A vector field that surrounds charged particles
Electric field lines emerge from positive charges and enter negative charges, are continuous and form closed loops, and are denser near the charge and less dense farther away
Electric field strength (E) is proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance, measured in N/C (newtons per coulomb), and can be calculated using the equation E = k * q / r^2

The potential energy per unit charge at a given point in an electric field
Electric potential (V) is proportional to the charge and inversely proportional to the distance, measured in volts (V), and can be calculated using the equation V = k * q / r
Equipotential surfaces are surfaces where the electric potential is the same and are perpendicular to the electric field lines

Relates the distribution of electric charge to the resulting electric field
The equation for Gauss's Law is ∫E · dA = Q / ε₀, where ∫E · dA is the total electric flux through a closed surface, Q is the net charge inside the surface, and ε₀ is the electric constant (approximately 8.85 x 10^-12 F/m)
The law states that the total electric flux through a closed surface is proportional to the net charge inside the surface, and that electric field lines emerge from positive charges and enter negative charges