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Electromagnetic & Electrostatic force: what's the difference?


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Posted

I'm just reading about these 2 forces but I'm not really getting the difference

 

Electromagnetic force is about attraction or repulsion between the nuclear particles of atoms, but the then what's electrostatic force?

 

What's the link between these 2 forces and Coulomb's law: F= kQ1Q2/r^2?

 

Please Help I'm really confused:-(

Posted
I'm just reading about these 2 forces but I'm not really getting the difference

 

Electromagnetic force is about attraction or repulsion between the nuclear particles of atoms, but the then what's electrostatic force?

 

What's the link between these 2 forces and Coulomb's law: F= kQ1Q2/r^2?

 

Please Help I'm really confused:-(

 

Electromagnetic forces are electrostatic and electro-"nonstatic" forces.

 

Coulombs law is for the forces between static charges.

Posted (edited)

Coulombs law describes the electrostatic force, and the hint is in the name, it only deals with static (ideal) situations i.e when the particles in the system are not moving, and the law describes the magnitude of the force between these charged particles.

 

The electromagnetic force, deals with the above and a changing magnetic or electric field, e.g a change in a magnetic field induces a current and vice versa. That's the raw basics, but there's a lot more to the latter.

 

EDIT: I was AFK, and didn't see the previous response.

 

EDIT 2: This should be in general physics

 

Mod note: Yes. Thread moved.

Edited by swansont
add mod note

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