PHYS1002 Lab Proposal

Matthew Groves, Jason Kugelman, Katie Clark

PHYS1002 Proposal

Introduction
The aim of the experiment is to verify the inverse square law, which is used in Coulombs
Law. This law states that the magnitude of electric force is has an inverse square
relationship with the distance between charges.
Theory
Coulombs Law is a fundamental law of modern physics, used to determine the force
present between charged objects. It is used to relate the distance between charges to the
electrostatic force between them.
Coulombs Law states:

Where k is Coulombs constant, F is the force between two charges, r is the distance
between the charges, and Q is the magnitude of each charge.
In order to test the inverse square law included in Coulombs Law, k, Q
1
, and Q
2
will remain
constant, so that it gives the following relation between force and distance:

To experimentally verify this relation, it must be converted to a linear function to find a
more accurate representation of the relation. Therefore, it follows that:
() () (

)
() ()
Which is in the form y=mx + C, where C is a constant. Through experimentation, n can be
determined as the slope of the data.
Hypothesis
It is expected that as the distance increases, the electric force between the charged balls will
decrease as an inverse square function.
Apparatus
Van De Graaff Generator (VDGG)
Two conducting metal balls
Metronome
Scales
Conducting wires
Retort stand and clamp
Stand for metal ball
PHYS1002 Lab Proposal

Matthew Groves, Jason Kugelman, Katie Clark

Assumptions/Approximations
Humidity remains constant throughout testing.
Air Temperature remains constant.
Charge is constant in both conducting balls throughout procedure
Calculated force may differ from actual value from other metallic or conductive
object present.
Other groups doing experiments nearby may also affect the result of the experiment.
No other external forces, other than gravity, are present.
Human error, including speed of the VDGG wheel and measurements
Method
The apparatus is to be set up as
shown in figure 1. The upper
conducting ball is to be connected
to the sphere of the VDGG, and
the lower ball connected to the
negative terminal on the bottom
of the generator. The VDGG is
discharged before testing. With
the balls positioned vertically and
1cm apart wind the wheel at a
constant rate, using a metronome.
Once the balls are charged, unplug
the generator and record the
weight of the lower ball, then discharge both the balls and the VDGG. Repeat the process 3
times for every distance, and varying the distance between the balls in 1cm increments up
to 10cm. When all data is collected, a graph should be produced to show the relationship
between natural log of the distance and natural log of force. The gradient of the graph will
determine the n value of the exponent of r in the relationship of force and distance.
Figure 1: Apparatus Setup