What does Coulomb's law state about the electrostatic force between two charges?

Coulomb's law describes the electrostatic force between two point charges, stating that the force is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. Mathematically, it can be expressed as:

F = k * (|q1 * q2|) / r²

where F is the magnitude of the electrostatic force, k is Coulomb's constant, |q1| and |q2| are the absolute values of the charges, and r is the distance between the charges. This relationship shows that as either charge increases, the force increases, and as the distance between the charges increases, the force decreases rapidly (with the square of the distance).

Understanding this law is fundamental in physics, especially in electrostatics, as it provides insight into how charges interact with one another, allowing us to predict behaviors in various applications, from basic electric circuits to complex interactions in particle physics.