Inverse square law

Definition

The inverse square law states that the intensity or strength of a physical quantity decreases with the square of the distance from its source.

Analogy

Imagine you have a flashlight and you're standing in a dark room. As you move away from the light source, the brightness of the light diminishes rapidly. The further you go, the dimmer it gets because the light spreads out in all directions and becomes less concentrated.

Related terms

Coulomb's Law: Coulomb's Law describes the electrostatic force between two charged objects, which follows an inverse square relationship similar to the inverse square law.

Radiation Intensity: Radiation intensity refers to how much radiation is emitted per unit area and follows an inverse square relationship as well.

Sound Intensity: Sound intensity measures how loud a sound is at a certain distance from its source and also obeys an inverse square relationship.