Asked by ji

What is the equation for calculating the electrical force, Fe, between two charges?

Fe = kStartfraction q Subscript 1 baseline times q Subscript 2 baseline over d Endfraction.
Fe = Startfraction q Subscript 1 baseline times q Subscript 2 baseline over d Superscript 2 baseline Endfraction.
Fe = kStartfraction q Subscript 1 baseline times q Subscript 2 baseline over d Superscript 2 baseline Endfraction.
Fe = kStartfraction q Subscript 1 baseline times q Subscript 2 baseline over d Endfraction Superscript 2 baseline.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The correct form is the third one:

Fe = k (q1 q2) / d²

where k ≈ 8.99×10^9 N·m²/C² (Coulomb's constant). The sign of q1·q2 gives the force sense: positive → repulsive, negative → attractive. In vector form: F⃗ = k q1 q2 / r² · r̂ (or F⃗12 = k q1 q2 / r² · r̂12).