1. A law which describes the electric force between charged objects which states that:

• Like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each other.
• The attraction or repulsion acts along the line between the two charges.
• The size of the force varies inversely as the square of the distance between the two charges.
• The size of the force is proportional to the value of each charge.

2. In physics, a law stating that the electrostatic force between two charged bodies is proportional to the product of the amount of charge on the bodies divided by the square of the distance between them.

If the bodies are oppositely charged, one positive and one negative, they are attracted toward one another; if the bodies are similarly charged, both positive or both negative, the force between them is repulsive.

Coulomb's law applies only when the charged bodies are much smaller than the distance separating them and therefore can be treated approximately as point charges.

1. An electrostatic force of attraction applied by one charged particle to an oppositely charged particle.
2. The electrostatic force of attraction exerted by one charged particle onto another charged particle of the opposite sign.
3. The tendency of bodies to draw together when carrying opposite charges of electricity.

These are just a few of the meanings set up for the etymological meanings of philo which comes to us from Greek: "love, loving, friendly to, fondness for, attraction to; strong tendency toward, affinity for".

In biology, there are many words that use philo to mean "thriving in such and such a place or situation" or exhibiting a tendency to for a specified condition" for its existence.

Other meanings include: "strongly attracted to, an organism that loves or is strongly attracted to, (something specified).

In psychology and psychiatry, -phile, -phil, et al.; use this element as a word termination denoting (a) an abnormal craving or attraction or (b) an affinity for an object denoted by the word stems to which they are affixed.

1. The distance within which the potential energy arising from mutual attraction of two molecules is not negligible with respect to the molecules' average thermal energy at room temperature.
2. In physical chemistry, the area between two molecules within which the energy generated by their mutual attraction is significant enough to be distinguished from the average energy of other molecules in the system.