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Article
Coulomb's law
Article By:
Frenzel, Louis Retired, Department of Engineering Technology, Austin Community College, Austin, Texas.
Berry, Carlotta Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana.
Last reviewed:May 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.164800
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The basic quantitative law of electrostatics that quantifies the physical force that exists between two electrically charged points. For electrostatics, Coulomb's law states that the direct force F of point charge q1 on point charge q2, when the charges are separated by a distance r in free space, is given by F = k0 q1 q2 r2, where k0 is a constant of proportionality whose value depends on the units used for measuring F, q, and r. In the International System (SI) of units, k0 = 1/(4πε0), where ε0 is called the permittivity of empty space and has the value 8.85 × 10−12 farad/m. Thus, Coulomb's law is as in the equation below
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