Coulomb's Law

Visualizing the electric force between two point charges.

The Concept: Electric Force

Coulomb's Law describes the fundamental force between two stationary charged particles. The force is directly proportional to the product of the two charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

This simulation shows that like charges repel and opposite charges attract.

What to look for

Observe the labeled force vectors change in both magnitude and direction.
Double the distance and the force drops to a quarter: F ∝ 1/r².

Controls

Charge 1 ($q_1$): 5 µC

Charge 2 ($q_2$): -5 µC

Force Calculation

$F = k \frac{|q_1 q_2|}{r^2}$