`|F| = k(|q^+||q^-|)/d^2`

Enter a value for all fields

The Coulomb's Law calculator compute the attractive force between to oppositely charged particles based on their charge, the distance between the particles and Coulomb's Constant.

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose units and enter the following:

• (d) Distance between Particles
• (q⁺) Charge of First Particle
• (q^-) Charge of Second Particle

Coulomb's Law Attractive Force (F):  The calculator returns the force in newtons.  However this can be automatically converted to compatible units.

The Math / Science

Coulomb's Law describes the electrostatic interactions between two oppositely charged particles. The greater the charge on the ions and the smaller the ions are, the stronger the ionic bonding. The force is attractive if the charges are of different signs, and repulsive if they have the same sign. This Coulomb's Law equation has the following inputs:

|F| = (k • q+ • q-)/d²

where:

• F is the force between two oppositely charged particles. 
• k is Coulomb's Constant ( `9.0×10^9 N⋅m^2"/"C^2` (8.9875517873682E9 m/F))
• q+ is the charge of body 1 
• q- is the charge of body 2 
• d is the separation distance between the two centers of the particles

Both q⁺ and q^- have units of Coulombs and d has default units of meters (m).

Supplemental Materials

Khan Academy: Coulomb's Law (with example)

Physics Classroom: Coulomb's Law

References

Whitten, et al. "Chemistry" 10th Edition. Pp. 253