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Concept

Coulomb force

A circular diagram illustrates the Coulomb force concept, showing concentric rings radiating outward from a central point, symbolizing the decreasing strength of the electric force as distance increases.

The electric force between two charged particles, falling off with the square of the distance between them. Named for the French physicist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, who measured it in the 1780s with a torsion balance. Unlike short-range molecular forces in a gas, the Coulomb force has unlimited range, which is why charged particles in a plasma move collectively rather than independently.

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