Calculation of charge required to equalize the force

To calculate the charge required to equalize the force, we need to use Coulomb's law formula:

F = k q1 q2 / r^2

where F is the force, k is Coulomb's constant, q1 and q2 are the charges, and r is the separation distance.

We can set the force equal to the weight of a 50 kg person, which is:

F = m g = (50 kg) (9.81 m/s^2) = 490.5 N

We can also set the separation distance to 1.0 m.

Plugging in these values into Coulomb's law, we get:

490.5 N = k q^2 / (1.0 m)^2

Solving for q, we get:

q = sqrt(490.5 N * (1.0 m)^2 / k) = 1.69 x 10^-6 C

Therefore, the magnitude of the charges should be 1.69 x 10^-6 C.

Explanation of the solution

The force between two charges is given by Coulomb's law, which states that the force is proportional to the product of the charges and inversely proportional to the square of the separation distance. Therefore, if we want to equalize the force between two charges to the weight of a 50 kg person, we can set the force equal to the weight and solve for the charge.

Coulomb's constant, k, is a physical constant that relates the electrostatic force between two charges to the product of the charges and the separation distance. Its value is approximately 9 x 10^9 N m^2 / C^2.

The charge required to equalize the force is very small, which is expected because the electrostatic force is much stronger than the gravitational force between two small charges.