Practice question · Multiple choice
Coulomb’s law and Newton’s law of gravitation have identical inverse-square form. What makes their predictions differ so profoundly?
Hints
- Ask what happens to the net force from a large neutral object.
- Why is the Earth’s gravitational pull enormous and its electric pull nil?
Show the answer
B. Charge comes in two signs and mass in one, so gravity accumulates
Why
Cancellation is the whole difference. Bulk matter is electrically neutral, so the stronger force cancels itself out and the weaker one, which cannot cancel, runs the solar system.
Practise Electric Charge and Coulomb's Law
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