10.5 Electric Potential Energy

Part of Electric Force, Field, and Potential in AP® Physics 2: Algebra-Based. Read the opening section, then create a free account for the full interactive lesson, practice, and progress tracking.

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Electric Potential Energy

Just like with 2 masses that are a certain distance apart, when 2 point charges are separated by a distance, there will be some electric potential energy. The potential energy of 2 charges that are separated is defined as the work it takes for an external force to bring the charges from infinitely far away to where they currently are.

U_E=k\frac{q_1q_2}{r}

${U_E}$ is the electric potential energy between the 2 charges
${k}$ is Coulomb’s constant
${q_1}$ is the charge of the first charge
${q_2}$ is the charge of the second charge
${r}$ is the distance between the center of charge of the charges

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