How close would you have to bring 3 C of positive charge and 3 C of negative charge for them to exert forces of 1 N on one another?

Answer 1

The equation for an electrical force between two point charges:

F = k*q1*q2/r^2, where

F = the attractive or repulsive electrical force [N]

k = electrical constant = 8.99x109 [N m2 C-2]

q1 and q2 are the magnitude of the two point charges in question [C]

r = the separation between the two point charges [m]

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Since q1 = 3 [C] and q2 = -3 [C], F is negative in sign --> attractive force. Rearranging the force expression, we have

r = sqrt {k*q1*q2/F} = sqrt {-8.99x109*3*3/-1} = 2.844x105 [m].

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Answer 2

The force between two charges is given by Coulomb's law, which states that (F = \frac{k \cdot |q_1 \cdot q_2|}{r^2}), where (F) is the force, (k) is the electrostatic constant, (q_1) and (q_2) are the charges, and (r) is the distance between the charges. For the forces to be 1 N, the distance (r) between the charges must be small enough such that the equation (1 = \frac{k \cdot |3 \times 3|}{r^2}) is satisfied. Solving for (r) would give you the distance needed.