Which of the following laws deduces the expression for the force between two stationary point charges in vacuum or free space?

Coulomb’s Law

The correct answer is option 2. Coulomb’s Law.

The law that deduces the expression for the force between two stationary point charges in vacuum or free space is Coulomb’s Law.

Coulomb's Law states that the force (\( F \)) between two point charges (\( q_1 \) and \( q_2 \)) is directly proportional to the product of their magnitudes (\( |q_1| \) and \( |q_2| \)) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance (\( r \)) between them. Mathematically, Coulomb's Law can be expressed as:

\[ F = \frac{k \cdot |q_1| \cdot |q_2|}{r^2} \]

Where:

\( F \) is the electrostatic force between the charges

\( k \) is Coulomb's constant (\( 8.9875 \times 10^9 \, \text{N m}^2/\text{C}^2 \) in vacuum)

\( |q_1| \) and \( |q_2| \) are the magnitudes of the charges

\( r \) is the distance between the charges

Coulomb's Law provides a quantitative description of the electrostatic force between stationary point charges and is analogous to Newton's law of universal gravitation for gravitational force.