Two identical charges are placed 1 m apart. If the magnitude of each charge is doubled, what happens to the force between them? (2022)

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Q: Two identical charges are placed 1 m apart. If the magnitude of each charge is doubled, what happens to the force between them? (2022)

Solution: According to Coulomb's law, F ∝ q1 * q2. If both charges are doubled, the force becomes 4 times the original force.

Steps: 8

Step 1: Understand that we have two identical charges, let's call them q1 and q2.
Step 2: Initially, the distance between the charges is 1 meter.
Step 3: According to Coulomb's law, the force (F) between two charges is proportional to the product of their magnitudes: F ∝ q1 * q2.
Step 4: If both charges are doubled, we have new charges: q1' = 2 * q1 and q2' = 2 * q2.
Step 5: Now, calculate the new force using the new charges: F' ∝ q1' * q2' = (2 * q1) * (2 * q2).
Step 6: Simplify the equation: F' ∝ 4 * (q1 * q2).
Step 7: This means the new force (F') is 4 times the original force (F).
Step 8: Therefore, if the charges are doubled, the force between them becomes 4 times stronger.