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Electric Force, Field, and Potential

Summary

  • Charge is quantized, integer multiple of e=1.6x10^{-19}.
  • q=\pm ne
  • Coulomb's law: F=k\frac{p_1p_2}{n^2}; directly proportional to charge, inversely proportional to distance.
  • Same signs repel, opposite signs attract.
  • Electric force is stronger than gravity for tiny particles, gravity controls large scale because big objects are usually neutral.
  • Electric permittivity measures how much a material polarizes in a field. Conductors let charge move freely, insulators don't.
  • Only need to calculate force for 4 or less interacting charges unless situation is highly symmetrical.