Here's why:
* Coulomb's Law: The force between two charged objects is governed by Coulomb's Law. This law states that the force is:
* Directly proportional to the product of the charges: Larger charges mean a stronger force.
* Inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them: This is the key point. As the distance increases, the force decreases very quickly.
* The Inverse Square Relationship: The "inverse square" part means that if you double the distance between the charges, the force becomes four times weaker. If you triple the distance, the force becomes nine times weaker.
Think of it like this:
Imagine two magnets. When they are close together, the force pulling them together is strong. As you move them further apart, the force weakens considerably. The same principle applies to electric forces.
In summary: The electric force between charged objects gets weaker as they move farther apart, following an inverse square relationship with distance.
