Coulomb\'s law allows us to find the force between two point charges. Three poin
ID: 1419722 • Letter: C
Question
Coulomb's law allows us to find the force between two point charges. Three point charges are held fixed in place as shown. Consider the following comment about this situation: "There will be zero net electric force on the charge in the middle due to the other charges. Using Coulomb's law, the force due to the +Q. charge is positive, and the force due to the -Q charge is negative. The forces cancel Do you agree with this statement? Explain. How does Coulomb's law apply to situations in which there are more than two point charges? Each of the following parts involves a comparison of the net electric forceExplanation / Answer
a)
No the statement is incorrect. The force is a vector quantity and has both magnitude and direction . The magnetic of force on the middle charge by the other two charges is same and positive since we do not include the sign of the charge while calculating the force.
Force due to negative charge on a positive charge points towards the negative charge as opposite charges attaract.
Force due to positive charge on a positive charge points away from the positive charge as same charges repel.
hence there is net force on the middle charge pointing towards right
b)
we calculate the magnitude of force between each pair of charges and determine the direction of force,.