Coulomb potential

The electrostatic potential energy of two point charges separated by distance r is proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to r. Its sign depends on whether the charges have like or opposite signs.

Coulomb's law: The electrostatic force between two point charges is proportional to their charge product and inversely proportional to squared separation. Differentiating the potential energy with respect to separation gives the force described by this law.
Electric charge: Electric charge is a property of matter that produces and responds to electromagnetic interactions. The two charges set the magnitude and sign of the Coulomb interaction.
Hydrogen atom: The hydrogen atom consists of one proton and one electron bound by electromagnetic attraction. Its electron experiences the Coulomb potential of the proton, forming the simplest atomic model.
Gravitational potential energy: Gravitational potential energy is the interaction energy associated with masses in a gravitational field. It also varies inversely with separation for point sources, but gravity between masses is always attractive.
Electric potential: Electric potential is electric potential energy per unit charge at a position in an electric field. Dividing the two-charge energy by one charge gives the potential created by the other.
Point charge: A point charge is an idealized electric charge whose size is negligible compared with relevant distances. The inverse-distance expression applies directly when both interacting objects can be treated as point charges.
Rutherford scattering: Rutherford scattering is the deflection of charged particles by the Coulomb fields of atomic nuclei. The inverse-distance interaction predicts the characteristic scattering of alpha particles by nuclei.
Yukawa potential: The Yukawa potential is a short-range interaction potential that decays exponentially with distance as well as inversely with distance. Its exponential factor contrasts with the unscreened Coulomb potential's long-range tail.
Potential energy: Potential energy is stored energy associated with an object's position, configuration, or state in a force field. The Coulomb potential is a specific interaction energy within this broader concept.
Reference potential: A reference potential is the chosen baseline from which electric potential values are measured. Setting potential energy to zero at infinite separation fixes the usual Coulomb-potential convention.

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