115k views
5 votes
How do electric and magnetic forces act on different objects?

User JorgenH
by
7.1k points

1 Answer

3 votes
Electric forces act on all electric charges, be those charges at rest, or moving. For static charges, the force is given by F=qE/kr^2 where E is the electric field, q is the charge, k is a known constant, and r is the separation of the charges.  Magnetic fields act on moving electric charges, ususlly "seen" as forces acting on electric currents. This seems to be because a moving electric charge generates a magnetic field. That field would interact with another magnetic field to produce a force. As I remember it, a magnetic field would have no effect on a fixed electric charge.
User Samuelesque
by
7.3k points