Question

Why is Coulomb's law alone not enough when several charges are around a given charge?

Options

• It gives the force between two charges, but the net force must account for several charges.

• It applies only to charges in a medium other than vacuum.

• It applies only when all charges have the same sign.

• It gives only the direction and not the magnitude of a force.

Answer 1

Coulomb's law gives the mutual force between a pair of charges. With several charges present, the net force requires combining the force from each of the other charges.