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Why do like electric charges repel and unlike electric charges attract?

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The science behind static electricity — electricity Explanation of static electricity and its manifestations in everyday life.

In physics, the behavior of electric charges is described by Coulomb’s law, which establishes that like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract.12

This interaction is a fundamental property of electric charge, which is an intrinsic characteristic of matter. Rather than viewing this as a direct interaction at a distance, physicists often describe it through the concept of an electric field. A source charge creates an electric field in the surrounding space, and any other charge placed within that field experiences a force.13

The direction of this force depends on the sign of the charge:
* Positive charges experience a force in the direction of the electric field.3
* Negative charges experience a force in the opposite direction of the field.3

Because the electric field around a positive source charge is oriented radially outward, it naturally pushes other positive charges away (repulsion) while pulling negative charges inward (attraction). This relationship is consistent with the observed behavior of electrons and atomic nuclei in electromagnetism.312