[Cryolite]

I was wondering if the ionic potential p = q/r, where q is the charge of a cation and r is its radius, has some relation to Coulomb's law, which states that the force of attraction between two charged particles is F = k*(q1*q2)/r^2.

As I see it, q/r from the ionic potential definition looks very much like q1/r. Is my intuition correct? And if so, could Coulomb's law be used to explain certain bond strengths instead of using the ionic potential?

[Juan R.]

The Coulomb force on particle j can be derived from the Coulomb potential generated by particle i placed at a distance R

Φ = k q_i / R

This potential can be used to explain the strength of the electric {*} interaction between two charges i and j. k is an universal constant, therefore the variable part is (q_i / R).

For ions, you can assume that the more important part of the interaction will be electric {*} and that the distance between the charges will be just the ionic radius R=r. Then the strength will be given by the (q_i / r). Since this quantity is important, it receives a special name: ionic potential.

{*} Incorrectly named "electrostatic" in thousands of references that confound the genuine Coulomb potential Φ(R(t)) of the AAAD theory with the static limit of the Lienard & Wiechert scalar potential φ(x,t) of the field theory.