Question

Choose two spheres and write how they can possibly interact.

a) They intersect at a single point
b) They do not intersect
c) They touch each other externally
d) They are concentric spheres

Answer 1

Upon contact and separation, two identical negatively charged spheres redistribute their total charge evenly. Each sphere will have a final charge of −4 nC, which is equal to a number of excess electrons determined by dividing the sphere's charge by an electron's charge.

Step-by-step explanation:

When two charged metal conducting spheres are brought into contact and then separated, the charge is redistributed between them. If sphere A has a charge of −5 nC and sphere B has a charge of −3 nC, after they touch each other and are separated, the charges will redistribute equally since the spheres are identical in size.

1. After contact, the total charge is the sum of the charges of both spheres, which is −8 nC. This charge will then be evenly shared between the two spheres.

2. Each sphere will end up with a charge of −4 nC upon separation. Since electrons have a charge of approximately −1.602 x 10⁻¹⁹ coulombs, we can calculate the number of excess electrons by dividing the charge on one sphere by the charge of an electron.