Final answer:
Coulomb's law describes the electrostatic force as directly proportional to the product of two charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them, represented by the formula F = k * |q1 * q2| / r². It is an inverse-square law and is only valid for static or slowly moving charges treated as point charges.
Step-by-step explanation:
Coulomb's Law Definition
Coulomb's law describes the electrostatic force between two point charges. According to this law, the magnitude of the force is directly proportional to the product of the electric charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. The law is encapsulated in the equation F = k * |q1 * q2| / r², where F represents the force in newtons, q1 and q2 are the charges in coulombs, r is the distance between the charges in meters, and k is Coulomb's constant (approximately 8.99 × 10⁹ Nm²/C²).
Coulomb's law is an inverse-square law similar to Newton's law of universal gravitation, but it operates on electric charges, yielding forces that can be either attractive or repulsive. Furthermore, the law holds true only for charges that are static or moving very slowly relative to each other. It is essential for accurate application that the charges can be treated as point charges or as spherical distributions when their size is significantly smaller than their separation distance.
Discovered by French physicist Charles Coulomb, this fundamental physical law has been thoroughly tested and verified, with experiments confirming its precision to extraordinary levels of accuracy. It is a cornerstone in the study of electrodynamics and helps explain the interactions between charged particles.