In this expression, Q represents the charge of the particle that is experiencing the electric force →F, and is located at →r from the origin; the q′is are the N source charges, ...In this expression, Q represents the charge of the particle that is experiencing the electric force →F, and is located at →r from the origin; the q′is are the N source charges, and the vectors →ri are the displacements from the position of the ith charge to the position of Q.
Through the work of scientists in the late 18th century, the main features of the electrostatic force—the existence of two types of charge, the observation that like charges repel, unlike charges attr...Through the work of scientists in the late 18th century, the main features of the electrostatic force—the existence of two types of charge, the observation that like charges repel, unlike charges attract, and the decrease of force with distance—were eventually refined, and expressed as a mathematical formula. The mathematical formula for the electrostatic force is called Coulomb’s law after the French physicist Charles Coulomb.
