Coulomb\'s law allows us to find the force between two point charges. Three poin
ID: 2162087 • 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?Explanation / Answer
a.) No, the statement is false. because it checks only magnitude of the forces. but we have to check the directions also.. as +Q and +q repel each other the direction is towards +ve x-axis. as +q and -Q attract each other the direction is towards +ve x-axis. So the net electrostattic force direction is towards +ve x-axis.