elektrostatische

Electrostatics refers to the study of electric charges at rest or moving slowly so that magnetic effects are negligible. It covers forces, fields, and potentials arising from stationary charges and their interactions. As the static limit of electromagnetism, electrostatics underpins capacitors, ion distributions, and many coating and printing processes.

Coulomb's law gives the force between point charges: F = k q1 q2 / r^2. The electric field E from a charge q is E = F/q, and the electric potential V relates by E = -∇V. In systems with multiple charges, superposition applies—the total field is the sum of individual fields.

Materials respond to electric fields by polarization; the dielectric permittivity ε controls this response. Capacitors store energy with Q = CV and U = 1/2 CV^2. In conductors and electrolytes, Gauss's law ∮E·dA = Qencl/ε0 and related equations describe charge distribution; the Poisson equation handles nonuniform cases.

In time-varying situations, magnetic effects arise and full electromagnetism is required. Nevertheless, many technologies rely on electrostatic principles, such as electrostatic precipitators for air cleaning, electrostatic painting and coating for uniform deposition, and xerography and other printers that use charged imaging.

Historically developed from studies of static electricity, electrostatics was advanced by Coulomb, Gauss, and others and remains central to physics, chemistry, and engineering. Note: elektrostatische is a term used in some languages as the adjective for electrostatic phenomena; the scientific concept remains electrostatics.