Question

How does the Coulomb’s force between two point charges depend upon the dielectric constant of the intervening medium?

Answer 1

Since Coulomb’s force between two point charges q₁, q₂ separated by distance r is given by:

F = \(\frac{1}{4πɛ_oK} \frac{q_1q_2}{r^2}\)

i.e. F ∝ \(\frac{1}{K}\)

So force between two charges is inversely proportional to dielectric constant K.