Coulomb’s Law: From Hydrogen Atoms to the Universe

Published on August 25, 2025 12:27 AM | By John Smith

Visualizing galaxies, stars, and planets is easy when we think of the universe. But if we look closely, the universe comprises microscopic bits called atoms. Coulomb's Law defines the electrostatic attraction between positive and negative charges as the tremendous force that represents most of the cosmos at the center of each atom.

The Main Idea Behind Coulomb's Law

Simplicity versus generality Coulomb’s Law is simple to grasp, but it has many effects. It also instructs us that a pair of charges will be drawn or pushed away from one another depending on how the signals read.

• Like charges repel – if you have two of the same type of charge, they will push away from one another.

• A positive charge and a negative charge attract. The amount of attraction is decided by the size of the charges and the distance between them.

It seems clean and compact when you look at it mathematically. But in actuality, it explains anything from the smallest hydrogen atom to the size of galaxies.

Keeping Atoms Together

Take hydrogen, which is the simplest atom in the universe. It has only one proton and one electron. Why does the electron stay close to the proton instead of moving away? Coulomb's Law holds the key to the answer. An unseen bond of electrostatic attraction pulls the negatively charged electron toward the positively charged proton.

Atoms couldn't form without this force; without atoms, there would be no chemistry, biology, or life.

By keeping electrons attached to nuclei and linking nuclei with one another, Coulomb’s Law makes possible everything from water and proteins to DNA in your body.

Creating the Universe

When the first hydrogen atoms joined together in the early universe, they formed helium and later other elements through fusion inside stars. These new elements eventually combined to make planets, oceans, and even people.

Gravity is the main factor that shapes galaxies, but on a cosmic scale, the electromagnetic force, which Coulomb's Law controls, makes plasma, which is what stars are comprised of, behave the way it does. It changes how stars burn, solar winds blow, and auroras move across the sky.

Coulomb’s Law acts as a hidden architect of the universe. It doesn't shine like the stars or drag things down like gravity. But it does make matters stable, relationships feasible, and life possible.

The Rule Across All Scales

The same principle governs it all, from tiny hydrogen atoms to distant galaxies: unlike charges pulling together, like charges pushing apart, complexity arises from this simple rule.

Whether in the smallest atom or the largest galaxy, the law is the same—opposites attract, likes repel—and from this basic fact, the universe builds its richness.

From hydrogen to galaxies across the cosmos, the rule never changes: opposite charges draw in, similar charges drive apart, and out of that, complexity forms.

The very same law shapes both atoms and galaxies: positives and negatives attract, like charges repel, and everything complex comes from that foundation.

Across all scales—whether in atoms or galaxies—opposite charges come together, like charges move apart, and from this simple truth, complexity emerges