Explain how the potential energy of two charged particles depends on the distance between the charged particles and on the magnitude and sign of their charges.

Question

Melanie Bond

Physics

5 June, 22:05

Explain how the potential energy of two charged particles depends on the distance between the charged particles and on the magnitude and sign of their charges.

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Answers (1)

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Chris Nielsen · Answer 1

According to Coulomb's Law, the potential energy of two charged particles is directly proportional to the product of the two charges and inversely proportional to the distance between the charges

Explanation:

According to Coulomb's Law, the potential energy of two charged particles is directly proportional to the product of the two charges and inversely proportional to the distance between the charges. Since the potential energy of two charged particles is directly proportional to the product of the two charges, its magnitude increases as the charges of the particles increases. For like charges, the potential energy is positive (the product of the two alike charges must be positive) and since potential energy is inversely proportional to the distance between the charges therefore it decreases as the particles get farther apart. For opposite charges, the potential energy is negative (the product of the two opposite charges must be negative) and since potential energy is inversely proportional to the distance between the two charges, it becomes more negative as the particles get closer together.