Week8 1
Week8 1
Electrostatics
Branch of physics deals with study of charges at rest under action of
electric force
Two types of charges
Protons (Positive)
Electrons (Negative)
Positively charged body is one which loses electrons
Negatively charged body is one which gains electrons
Electrostatics
Electric Force
Force due to which charged particles attract or repel each other
This force is responsible for stability of the atoms and molecules in
matter
Human body is entirely made up of atoms and molecules
So our existence is due to electric force
Qualitative nature of Electric Force
Point Charge
A charge whose size is very small just like a point
Coulomb's Law
A French army engineer formulated his law in 1784 AD on the basis of
measurements
The force between two point charges is directly proportional to the
product of magnitudes of charges and inversely proportional to the
square of distance between them
Qualitative nature of Electric Force
Coulomb's Law
F= Electric Force
k= Coloumb’s Constant
q1q2=charges
r= separation between charges
Qualitative nature of Electric Force
Coulomb's Law
• k is proportionality constant
• Its value depends upon the medium in which charges are placed and
system of units in which F, q and r are measured
• For Free Space