Resumen de Measuring the Force between Magnets as an Analogy for Coulomb’s Law
Samuel P. Hendrix, Stephen G. Prilliman
A brief demonstration is described that measures the force between magnets as an analogy for the force between charged particles to introduce the functional form of Coulomb’s law. One magnet is mounted on a digital force probe while another is systematically moved to different distances to measure the force as a function of distance. The force probe and magnets are held in place with plastic interlocking building bricks. The demonstration is used as an analogy to introduce students to the physics of electrostatic forces, a foundational principle for understanding chemical phenomena such as ionization energy, bonding, intermolecular forces, and lattice energy.
