Two equal charges exert equal forces on each other. What if one charge has twice the magnitude of the other. How do the forces they exert on each other compare?

Question

asked Aug 10, 2020 185k views

2 Answers

Shan Carter · Answer 1 · 2020-08-16T19:09:51+0000

Answer:

The force will double

Step-by-step explanation:

The electrostatic force between two electric charge is given by Coulomb's law:

F=k(q_1 q_2)/(r^2)

where

k is the Coulomb's constant

q1 and q2 are the two charges

r is the separation between the charges

In this problem, at the beginning the two charges are equal, so

q1 = q2 = q

and the force between them is

F=k(q^2)/(r^2)

Later, one of the two charges is doubled in magnitude:

$q_1 =2q\\q_2 = q$

So the new force will be

F'=k((2q)(q))/(r^2)=2k(q^2)/(r^2)=2F

so, the force has doubled.