Coulomb's Law
The force between two point charges is described by Coulomb's Law:
* F = k * (q1 * q2) / r²
Where:
* F is the electrostatic force
* k is Coulomb's constant (approximately 8.98755 × 10⁹ N⋅m²/C²)
* q1 and q2 are the magnitudes of the charges
* r is the distance between the charges
Doubling the Charges
If we double both charges (q1 and q2), the equation becomes:
* F' = k * (2q1 * 2q2) / r²
Simplifying:
* F' = 4 * k * (q1 * q2) / r²
Conclusion
We can see that:
* F' = 4 * F
This means the magnitude of the force will be quadrupled (increased by a factor of 4) when both charges are doubled.
Important Note: The force will be repulsive if the charges have the same sign (both positive or both negative), and attractive if the charges have opposite signs.
