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1992•American Journal of PhysicsRequires access

On Coulomb’s inverse square law

Peter Heering

Open publisher page 73 citations

Abstract

The famous inverse square law in electrostatics, first published in 1785 by C. A. Coulomb, was strongly contested during the next 40 years, especially in Germany. Therefore, at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg a replication of the apparatus described by Coulomb was made, and the reasons were investigated why none of his contemporaries succeeded in reproducing his results. In addition the respective theoretical concepts of Coulomb, his supporters, and his opponents were analyzed.

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What this paper is about

The famous inverse square law in electrostatics, first published in 1785 by C. A. Coulomb, was strongly contested during the next 40 years, especially in Germany. Therefore, at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg a replication of the apparatus described by Coulomb was made, and the reasons were investigated why none of his contemporaries succeeded in reproducing his results. In addition the respective theoretical concepts of Coulomb, his supporters, and his opponents were analyzed.

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OpenAlex reports 73 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

The famous inverse square law in electrostatics, first published in 1785 by C. A. Coulomb, was strongly contested during the next 40 years, especially in Germany. Therefore, at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg a replication of the apparatus described by Coulomb was made, and the reasons were investigated why none of his contemporaries succeeded in reproducing his results. In addition the respective theoretical concepts of Coulomb, his supporters, and his opponents were analyzed.

Key concepts: Coulomb, Inverse-square law, Physics, Coulomb's law, Square (algebra), Inverse, Coulomb's constant, Electrostatics

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