Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Coulomb's constant, denoted by k, is a proportionality constant that appears in Coulomb's law. It relates the magnitude of electrostatic force between two charged objects to their charges and the distance between them.
Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter that can be positive or negative. Charged objects exert electric forces on each other.
Force Field: A force field is an invisible region around an object where it exerts a force on other objects within its influence. In this case, it refers to the electric field created by charged particles.
Inverse Square Law: The inverse square law states that certain physical quantities (like intensity or force) decrease with the square of the distance from the source. In Coulomb's law, this means that electrostatic forces decrease as the distance between charged objects increases squared.