What happens to like charges when they are brought near each other?

When like charges are brought near each other, they repel each other. This behavior is a fundamental principle of electrostatics, which is governed by Coulomb's law. According to this law, charges of the same sign—either positive or negative—generate an electric field that exerts a force on other like charges, causing them to move away from each other.

This repulsion occurs because each charge creates a field that influences the other, resulting in a force that pushes them apart. The concept of repulsion among like charges is central to understanding electric forces and fields, which form the basis for much of classical physics and its applications.

The other options reflect misconceptions about electric charges. Attraction occurs between opposite charges, neutralization suggests a cancellation of effects (which does not happen with like charges), and "collapse" may imply a physical merging or disappearance, which is not representative of the behavior of charged particles. Thus, the characteristic interaction between like charges is one of repulsion, making that the correct response.