What do Newton's law of gravity and coulomb's law of static electric force have in common?
Newton's law of gravity and Coulomb's law of static electric force have several similarities:
1. Both laws involve an inverse square relationship: Newton's law states that the gravitational force between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. Similarly, Coulomb's law states that the electric force between two charged objects is directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
2. Both laws are additive: Newton's law of gravity states that the force between two objects is the sum of the individual forces between each pair of masses. Similarly, Coulomb's law states that the electric force between two charged objects is the vector sum of the individual forces between each pair of charges.
3. Both laws follow Newton's third law of motion: Newton's third law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of gravity, the force that object A exerts on object B is equal and opposite to the force that object B exerts on object A. Similarly, in the case of static electric force, the force that charge A exerts on charge B is equal and opposite to the force that charge B exerts on charge A.
4. Both laws are fundamental interactions: Both gravity and static electric force are fundamental forces of nature that play a significant role at macroscopic and microscopic scales. They are two of the four fundamental forces known in nature, the others being the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force.
Despite these similarities, it's important to note that there are also important differences between the two laws as they describe different interactions (gravity vs. electric force) and involve different properties (mass vs. charge).