TO VERIFY COULOMB'S LAW IN

ELECTROSTATICS USING PHET

STIMULATION WORK.
A project report

Submitted to the Department of Physics, St. Xavier’s College,

Maitighar, in the partial fulfillment for the requirement of NEB +2

Science in physics.

By

Sushrita Kuinkel
Class: 11

Section: F

Roll no: 631

Date: 19 Jan
 RECOMMENDATION
It is to certify that Ms. Sushrita Kuinkel has successfully carried out the project
entitled “VERIFICATION OF COULOMB'S LAW IN ELECTROSTATICS
USING PHET STIMULATION WORK” under my guidance and supervision.

I recommend this project for the +2 degree of NEB.

…………………………………..

Advisor

Mr. Uttam Aryal

Department of physics

St. Xavier’s College

Maitighar, Kathmandu, Nepal

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to the
successful completion of this report on the verification of Coulomb's Law in
electrostatics using PhET simulation.

Firstly, I extend my appreciation to Mr. Uttam Aryal whose guidance and expertise
were invaluable throughout the experimental process. His insightful feedback and
encouragement greatly enhanced the quality of this report.

I would like to acknowledge the creators of the PhET Interactive Simulations, whose
innovative platform provided us with a dynamic and engaging environment to explore
the principles of electrostatics. The accessibility and user-friendly nature of the
simulation significantly facilitated our understanding of Coulomb's Law.

Lastly I would like to support all my teachers friends and parents for their support
without which this report had not been completed.

This report stands as a testament to the collective effort and collaboration of all those
involved. Thank you for your invaluable contributions.

Sincerely:

Sushrita Kuinkel

St. Xavier’s College

Maitighar, Kathmandu

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

RECOMMENDATION I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II

TABLE OF CONTENT III

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Introduction 1
1.2 Historical Background 1
1.3 Applications and Significance 2
1.4 Theory 2
2. OBJECTIVES 3
3. METHODOLOGY 4
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 5
5. CONCLUSION 14
FUTURE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT 15
REFERENCES 16

III
 INTRODUCTION
1.1 General Introduction:

Coulomb’s law is a law of physics describing the electrostatic interaction between

electrically charged particles. It deals with the force a point charge exerts on another
point charge. A point charge means a charge that is located on a body whose
dimensions are much smaller than other relevant dimensions. Charges are generally
measured in coulombs(C). One coulomb is approximately equivalent to 6
*1018 electrons; it is a very large unit of charge because one electron charge e=-
1.6019*10-19 C.

Coulomb's law states that the force between two point charges Q1 and Q2 is:

1. Along the line joining them.

2. Directly proportional to the product Q1Q2 of the charges.
3. Inversely proportional to the square of the distance R between them.

Expressed mathematically,

F = kQ1Q2/R2

1.2 Historical Background:

It was studied and first published in 1783 by French physicist Charles Augustin de
Coulomb and was essential for the development of the theory of electromagnetism.
Charles Augustin de Coulomb (1736–1806) studied the interaction forces of charged
particles in detail in 1784. He used a torsion balance similar to the one used 13 years
later by Cavendish to study the much weaker gravitational interaction. Coulomb
found that the electric force is proportional to1/r^2. That is, when the distance
doubles, the force decreases to one-quarter of its initial value; when the distance is
halved, the force increases to four times its initial value. The electric force between
two point charges also depends on the quantity of charge on each body, which we will
denote by q or Q. To explore this dependence, Coulomb divided a charge into two
equal parts by placing a small charged spherical conductor into contact with an
identical but uncharged sphere; by symmetry, the charge is shared equally between

1
the two spheres. Thus, he could obtain one-half, one-quarter, and so on, of any initial
charge. He found that the forces that two point charges q1 and q2 exert on each other
are proportional to each charge and therefore are proportional to the product (q1 *q2)
of the two charges.

Thus, Coulomb established law which we now call Coulomb’s law.

1.3 Application and significance:

Experiments show that when two charges exert forces simultaneously on a third
charge, the total force acting on that charge is the vector sum of the forces that the two
charges would exert individually. This important property, called the principle of
superposition of forces, holds for any number of charges. Thus the concept of
superposition of forces can be acquired by coulomb’s law.

By using this principle, we can apply coulomb’s law to any collection of charges.
The coulomb’s law helps us to calculate the distance and force between the two
charges. Also contributes us in finding the electric field.

1.4 Theory:

Let’s say that there are two charges q1 and q2. The distance between the charges is
‘r’, and the force of attraction/repulsion between them is ‘F’. Then,

According to coulomb's law;

F ∝ q1q2

Or, F ∝ 1/r^2

F = k q1q2/ r^2

where k is proportionality constant and equals to 1/4 π ε0. Here, ε0 is the epsilon
naught and it signifies permittivity of a vacuum. The value of k comes 9 ×
109 Nm2/ C2 when we take the S.I unit of value of ε0 is 8.854 × 10-12 C2 N-1 m-2.

According to this theory, like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each
other. This means charges of same sign will push each other with repulsive forces while
charges with opposite signs will pull each other with attractive force.

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 OBJECTIVES:
The main objective for the report writing is to verify the accuracy of Coulomb's Law
through experimentation using a PhET simulation by creating a bridge between
theoretical knowledge gained with practical application, fostering a deeper
understanding of electrostatics while honing essential scientific and analytical skills.

1. Showcasing a clear understanding of Coulomb's Law and its significance in

electrostatics.
2. Contribute to the broader scientific inquiry by adding to the body of knowledge
related to electrostatics and Coulomb's Law.
3. Teaching students how to apply our experimental techniques to collect and
analyze data and reaching into the suitable conclusion.
4. Encourage critical thinking by evaluating the validity of results and considering
alternative explanations for observed phenomena.

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 METHODOLOGY
PhET simulation is used for the verification of coulomb’s law of electrostatics in this
report.PhET simulations are interactive tools that allow us to explore and visualize
various scientific concepts, including Coulomb's Law in electrostatics. While PhET
simulations provide a great platform for understanding and observing physical
phenomena, they are not typically used for direct experimental verification. Instead,
we would perform experiments in a physical laboratory setting to verify Coulomb's
Law. However, we can use the simulation to illustrate and support your understanding
of the concept.

So, we are using PhET sims to do differ data calculation are collecting the available
necessary data and are analyzing the relation between the selective terms or
observation of the effect of changing the distance between charges on the force can be
done as the main process for reaching the conclusion of coulomb’s law.

The data are calculated in the primary source form as we our self are conducting the
simulation and we our-self are analyzing the changes seen in different data.

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
We are going to calculate the force of attraction or repulsion to verify the coulomb’s
law and are finding the relation between the charges and distance with the force of
attraction or repulsion.

For the relation between electrostatics force and magnitude of the charges:

TAB 1: CALCULATION OF FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN TWO

DIFFERENT UNLIKE CHARGES ON THE DISTANCE OF 7cm.

FIRST SECOND PRODUCT DISTANCE DIRECTION

CHARGE CHARGE OF BETWEEN TOTAL OF FORCE
S.N (Q1) (Q2) CHARGES THE FORCE
(Q1 *Q2) CHARGES (F)

1. -10 8 80 7CM 142.631 TOWARDS

2. -9 10 90 7CM 160.490 TOWARDS

3. -3 9 27 7CM 48.138 TOWARDS

4. -2 4 8 7CM 14.263 TOWARDS

5. -3 2 6 7CM 10.967 TOWARDS

6. 1 -2 2 7CM 3.566 TOWARDS

7. 3 -2 6 7CM 10.967 TOWARDS

8. 5 -4 20 7CM 35.68 TOWARDS

9. 8 -7 56 7CM 99.842 TOWARDS

10. 7 -6 42 7CM 74.881 TOWARDS

Analyzing the above data of unlike charges we can conclude that unlike charges
attracts as all the above charges are unlike.

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FIG 1: DIAGRAM OF PHET SIMULATION CALCULATING ELECTROSTATICS
FORCE OF TWO DIFFERENT UNLIKE CHARGES.

TAB 2: CALCULATION OF FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN TWO

DIFFERENT LIKE CHARGES ON THE DISTANCE OF 7cm.

FIRST SECOND PRODUCT DISTANCE DIRECTION

CHARGE CHARGE OF BETWEEN TOTAL OF FORCE
S.N (Q1) (Q2) CHARGES THE FORCE
(Q1 *Q2) CHARGES (F)

1. 10 8 80 7CM 142.631 AWAY

2. 9 10 90 7CM 160.490 AWAY

3. 3 9 27 7CM 48.138 AWAY

4. 2 4 8 7CM 14.263 AWAY

5. 3 2 6 7CM 10.967 AWAY

6. 1 2 2 7CM 3.566 AWAY

7. 3 2 6 7CM 10.967 AWAY

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 8. 5 4 20 7CM 35.68 AWAY

9. 8 7 56 7CM 99.842 AWAY

10. 7 6 42 7CM 74.881 AWAY

Analyzing the above data of like charges we can conclude that like charges repeal as
all the above charges are like.

FIG 2: DIAGRAM OF PHET SIMULATION CALCULATING ELECTROSTATICS

FORCE OF TWO DIFFERENT LIKE CHARGES.

TAB 3: CALCULATION OF FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN TWO SAME

UNLIKE CHARGES ON THE DISTANCE OF 7cm.

FIRST SECOND PRODUCT DISTANCE DIRECTION

CHARGE CHARGE OF BETWEEN TOTAL OF FORCE
S.N (Q1) (Q2) CHARGES THE FORCE
(Q1 *Q2) CHARGES (F)

1. -10 10 100 7CM 178.289 TOWARDS

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 2. -9 9 81 7CM 144.414 TOWARDS

3. -8 8 64 7CM 114.105 TOWARDS

4. -7 7 49 7CM 87.362 TOWARDS

5. -6 6 36 7CM 64.184 TOWARDS

6. -5 5 25 7CM 45.855 TOWARDS

7. -4 4 16 7CM 29.347 TOWARDS

8. -3 3 9 7CM 16.508 TOWARDS

9. -2 2 4 7CM 7.337 TOWARDS

10. -1 1 1 7CM 1.834 TOWARDS

FIG 2: DIAGRAM OF PHET SIMULATION CALCULATING ELECTROSTATICS

FORCE OF TWO SAME UNLIKE CHARGES.

Analyzing the above data of unlike charges we can conclude that unlike charges
attracts as all the above charges are unlike.

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TAB 3: CALCULATION OF FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN TWO SAME
LIKE CHARGES ON THE DISTANCE OF 7cm.

FIRST SECOND PRODUCT DISTANCE DIRECTION

CHARGE CHARGE OF BETWEEN TOTAL OF FORCE
S.N (Q1) (Q2) CHARGES THE FORCE
(Q1 *Q2) CHARGES (F)

1. 10 10 100 7CM 178.289 AWAY

2. 9 9 81 7CM 144.414 AWAY

3. 8 8 64 7CM 114.105 AWAY

4. 7 7 49 7CM 87.362 AWAY

5. 6 6 36 7CM 64.184 AWAY

6. 5 5 25 7CM 45.855 AWAY

7. 4 4 16 7CM 29.347 AWAY

8. 3 3 9 7CM 16.508 AWAY

9. 2 2 4 7CM 7.337 AWAY

10. 1 1 1 7CM 1.834 AWAY

Analyzing the above data of like charges we can conclude that unlike charges repeal
as all the above charges are like.

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FIG 2: DIAGRAM OF PHET SIMULATION CALCULATING ELECTROSTATICS
FORCE OF TWO SAME UNLIKE CHARGES.

By observing the table 1, 2, 3 and 4 where the distance between the charges was kept
constant and magnitude was changed we can observe the relation that the
electrostatics force of attraction or repulsion and magnitude of the charges are directly
proportional to each other.

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For the relation between electrostatics force and distance between them:

TAB 5: CALCULATION OF FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN TWO

CONSTANT UNLIKE CHARGES ON DIFFERENT DISTANCE .

FIRST SECOND PRODUCT DISTANCE DIRECTION

CHARGE CHARGE OF BETWEEN TOTAL OF FORCE
S.N (Q1) (Q2) CHARGES THE FORCE
(Q1 *Q2) CHARGES (F)

1. 10 -5 50 2 1123.44 TOWARDS

2. 10 -5 50 2.5 791.004 TOWARDS

3. 10 -5 50 3 499.308 TOWARDS

4. 10 -5 50 4 280.861 TOWARDS

5. 10 -5 50 5 179.751 TOWARDS

6. 10 -5 50 6 124.827 TOWARDS

7. 10 -5 50 7 91.710 TOWARDS

8. 10 -5 50 8 70.215 TOWARDS

9. 10 -5 50 9 55.479 TOWARDS

10. 10 -5 50 10 44.938 TOWARDS

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TAB 6: CALCULATION OF FORCE OF ATTRACTION BETWEEN TWO
CONSTANT LIKE CHARGES ON DIFFERENT DISTANCE .

FIRST SECOND PRODUCT DISTANCE DIRECTION

CHARGE CHARGE OF BETWEEN TOTAL OF FORCE
S.N (Q1) (Q2) CHARGES THE FORCE
(Q1 *Q2) CHARGES (F)

1. 10 5 50 2 1123.44 AWAY

2. 10 5 50 2.5 791.004 AWAY

3. 10 5 50 3 499.308 AWAY

4. 10 5 50 4 280.861 AWAY

5. 10 5 50 5 179.751 AWAY

6. 10 5 50 6 124.827 AWAY

7. 10 5 50 7 91.710 AWAY

8. 10 5 50 8 70.215 AWAY

9. 10 5 50 9 55.479 AWAY

10. 10 5 50 10 44.938 AWAY

By observing Tab 5 &6 we know that when the distance is increasing the
electrostatics force keeps on decreasing gradually which confirms the inverse
relation between electrostatics force and distance between the two charges.

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If we observe all the data calculated by PhET simulation in the above tables we can
clearly see that the electrostatics force of attraction or repulsion is directly
proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of
the distance between their centers which can be further clarified by the below graphs.

GRAPH 1:

Where x axis is representing product of the charges and y axis is representing

electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion.

Graph 2:

Where x axis is representing square of the distance between their centers and y axis is
representing electrostatic force of attraction or repulsion.

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 CONCLUSION
Thus, the coulomb’s law of electrostatics can be verified with the help of PhET
simulation which provides an excellent environment to conduct the experiment of
different ideas which may not be possible in physical experiment. Without any extra
physical support of experts PhET simulation helps to carry out the experiments which
is very convenient in itself. Not only the coulombs law several other experiment can
be conducted with the help of PhET simulation without any physical help and
support.The experiment can be successfully conducted without any error and lab
appliances through the help of PhET simulation.

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 FUTURE SCOPE
Through the help of this report we students ourselves can learn how to do comparative
studies. Just like how we are able to compare the data from the PhET sims to
coulombs law in this report, we will be further more experience to do more
comparative study while learning in future.we students can further learn about new
technologies like PhET sims which are much more advance than our normal
laboratories and are much more helpful in learning process.By exploring these future
directions, researchers, educators, and developers can contribute to the ongoing
improvement and expansion of virtual experiments on Coulomb's Law and foster a
more dynamic and inclusive learning environment in physics education.

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 REFERENCES
BOOKS:

1. Young, H. D., & Freedman, R. A. (2012). University Physics with Modern Physics
(13th ed.). Pearson.

2. Harihar Paudel,Manoj Kumar Thapa & Arjun Gautam et al. (2077).Principle of

Physics (1st ed.).Ayam

3. Pitamber Shrestha, Chakra pd .Koirala & Purna Shrestha et al. (2079).

Comprehensive Physics (3rd ed.). Heritage

WEBSITES:

4. https://byjus.com/jee/coulombs-law/

5. https://www.toppr.com/guides/physics/electric-charges-and-fields/coulombs-law/

6. https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/coulombs-law/latest/coulombs-law_all.html

7. https://www.classcentral.com/course/introduction-to-phet-simulations-for-stem-
educati-121436

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