Electrostatic Force: The Force Between Charged Particles for Class 8

Electrostatic Force is an important non-contact force that we observe in our daily life. It acts between charged particles and can cause objects to either attract or repel each other. This force helps us understand many simple phenomena like static electricity and attraction between small objects. 

Have you ever noticed how small pieces of paper get attracted to a comb after rubbing it on your hair? The reason behind this is electrostatic force. In this article, we will understand what is electrostatic force and study real-life electrostatic force examples.

Table of Contents

• What is Electrostatic Force?
• Daily Life Electrostatic Force Examples

What is Electrostatic Force?

The force between charged particles is called electrostatic force. It can be either force of attraction or repulsion between the charged particles. 

The nature of force depends on the nature of the charges.

Like charges repel each other while unlike charges attract each other. Two positively charged or two negatively charged particles will repel each other, but a negative charge and a positive charge will attract each other.

Daily Life Electrostatic Force Examples

Electrostatic force can be observed in simple activities around us.

• If you rub a plastic scale on your hair and then place it in front of scraps of paper, you observe that the paper pieces are attracted towards the scale due to the electrostatic force of attraction.

• If you rub a balloon on dry hair, it sticks to a wall due to electrostatic force.
• When you remove a sweater in winter, you may hear a crackling sound due to electrostatic charges.
• Dust particles get attracted to a television or computer screen due to electrostatic force.

So far, in this article, we understood electrostatic force, what is electrostatic force, and also studied real-life electrostatic force examples. This force helps explain how charged particles interact through attraction and repulsion