If the distance between two charges is doubled, by what factor is the magnitude of the electric force changed? F_e final/F_e, initial =____

Answer :

cjmejiab

To solve this problem we will apply the concepts related to Coulomb's law for which the Electrostatic Force is defined as,

[tex]F_{initial} = \frac{kq_1q_2}{r^2}[/tex]

Here,

k = Coulomb's constant

[tex]q_{1,2}[/tex] = Charge at each object

r = Distance between them

As the distance is doubled so,

[tex]F_{final} = \frac{kq_1q_2}{( 2r )^2}[/tex]

[tex]F_{final} = \frac{ kq_1q_2}{ 4r^2}[/tex]

[tex]F_{final} = \frac{1}{4} \frac{ kq_1q_2}{r^2}[/tex]

[tex]F_{final} = \frac{1}{4} F_{initial}[/tex]

[tex]\frac{F_{final}}{ F_{initial}} = \frac{1}{4}[/tex]

Therefore the factor is 1/4

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