the attractive or repulsive interaction between two charged particles
The attractive or repulsive interaction between two charged particles is governed by Coulomb's law. This law states that the force between two charged particles is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
Mathematically, Coulomb's law can be expressed as:
F = k * (q1 * q2) / r^2
Where:
- F is the magnitude of the force between the two charged particles,
- k is the electrostatic constant (k = 8.988 × 10^9 N m^2/C^2),
- q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges of the two particles, and
- r is the distance between the centers of the two particles.
To determine whether the interaction is attractive or repulsive, you need to consider the signs of the charges involved. Like charges (both positive or both negative) will repel each other, while opposite charges (one positive and one negative) will attract each other.
So, if the charges of the particles have the same sign, the interaction will be repulsive. On the other hand, if the charges have opposite signs, the interaction will be attractive.